Priestess' Cure
by Anonymoose13
Summary: Kagome can't return to the past so she has to start her life over without her old friends and family. She decides to go to Kaibara High where she befriends the Sohmas and co. Read to find out how she will attempt to discover and break the ancient curse.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new story! Yay! I have four chapters typed out and a bit more written down in a notebook. If you like this please tell me so I can publish more chapters! And if you have any questions, please review! I'll try to answer you as fast as I can. Warning: It starts out a bit slow, but I promise it will pick up in pace! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Furuba or InuYasha. They do NOT belong to me.**

**Enjoy the first chapter. Unfortunately Furuba doesn't come up in this chapter, but it is important. I promise. Read, Review and enjoy!**

It had finally come and gone: the deciding battle between Naraku and the rag-tag team of demons, humans, a dead clay-person, and an inu hanyou. The rag-tag team won. They had defeated Naraku and his minions, but now that it was over they were at a loss as to what to do. Kagome, who had been leaning heavily on her redwood longbow, sank to her knees in the dirt. She wasn't scarred from the bloodshed or gore. She had seen much worse in her travels through the feudal era and none of her friends had died or were in any danger of dying at the moment. They had all been prepared for this battle and their forces, despite being small in numbers, were much more skillful than Naraku's numerous idiotic demon minions. No, that wasn't what was bothering the adolescent priestess. What was bothering her was what she was supposed to do with the Shikon no Tama now. They had all the pieces, but she didn't want it. She wasn't scared of the power it held, not really, but she didn't want to be in charge of it. She didn't want to be the one everyone piled their hopes and expectations on because she _was_ scared that she would fail them.

"Kagome?" a rough voice questioned as a clawed hand rested gently on her shoulder. Kagome raised her confused baby blue eyes to the golden eyes of the young hanyou man she loved. "Are you alright?" he asked.

Kagome tried her best to smile honestly as she grabbed his hand, pulled herself to her feet and wrapped her arms around his neck. He stiffened under her touch, but she didn't care. All she needed was to be held by someone; to be touched and loved even if he didn't love her the same way she loved him. As obtuse as InuYasha could be most of the time, he seemed to sense what Kagome needed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and patted her head in a brotherly way.

"Kagome," he growled softly. "Let's get the rest of the jewel put together and finish this." Kagome whimpered pathetically, pushed her face into his hard chest and breathed in his forest-like scent. His arms tightened around her but his voice was firm as he said, "Don't be so pathetic wench. It's been a little longer than a year. Let's end it once and for all."

Kagome nodded softly and pulled back to peer deeply into the honey-gold eyes of the silver-haired hanyou. She let her eyes show how hurt, confused and scared of what she had to do when realization struck her. She cupped his face in her small, delicate hands as she finally accepted that he didn't love her. It felt like something bad was going to happen when she put the jewel together but she pushed the thought from her mind and convinced herself that she was just stressed. Nothing could be worse than fighting Naraku. "InuYasha," she whispered. "If something happens, tell Shippou I love him. I hope you have a good life with Kikyou." She smiled truthfully at him and turned to the rest of her companions: Kouga, Ayame, Ginta, Hakkaku, Sesshomaru, Kirara, Sango, Miroku, Totosai and Kikyou. "Thank you so much for fighting with me. It was an honor and just in case something happens when I put the jewel together, I wish you all peace, happiness and good fortune." She gave everyone a watery smile before Sango gasped. She realized what her "sister" was saying and she ran forward to embrace her. She whispered advice into the girl's ear before she could start crying.

"Remember all the training you have received from Miroku, Kikyou and me. Keep in shape and don't let your skills get weak. You might have to use them some day. Kagome, we love you." Everybody else also expressed that they would miss her if something should happen to her. Even Kikyou and Sesshomaru offered her advice and said their goodbyes except for InuYasha. He was back to being his usual, crass self.

"What the hell's everyone getting so sentimental for? Nothin's gonna happen." Everyone in the group except for Sesshomaru stared blankly at InuYasha and laughed in spite of themselves and the possible situation of Kagome leaving forever. "But," InuYasha interrupted. "If something does happen, Kagome, me, Sango, Kikyou and Miroku chipped in to get you something. Kaede-baba charmed them to the size they are and Shippou picked out the chain." From a pocket in his haori, InuYasha pulled out a necklace on a silver chain with four silver charms attached to the chain. InuYasha slipped the necklace over Kagome's head and stepped back.

"My sister charmed the charms so that if you push a little of your power into a charm it will grow to the size it's supposed to. To shrink them back you just have to focus a little bit on making them smaller. Try to take back the power you put into the charm," Kikyou said.

Kagome smiled so big her mouth and cheeks hurt, but at the same time she was trying not to cry. On the necklace was a Hiraikotsu, a staff, a Tetsaiga and a bow and arrow. "Thank you so much! I guess I better get this over with." With that Kagome walked to the center of the group and pulled out the shards of the jewel from the pouch in the pocket of her skirt. Kikyou walked toward her and put her hands over her reincarnations'. Both poured their power into the two parts of the jewel. There was no way Kagome could have fused the whole think by herself with only part of her soul. Kikyou had to help her if they both wanted to live. A pink light surrounded the two young women, completely cutting them off from everything except each other. Kikyou looked at the girl she now considered her younger sister.

"Kagome, you're going to be transported back to your time. You know that right?" At Kagome's unhappy nod she continued. "You won't be able to come back and there's no guarantee you will see anybody from this time again."

"I know Kikyou." Kagome spoke a little more sharply than she intended. "I know. But it was up to me. No one else could have done it. It was only our soul that could manipulate the jewel. Plus I want InuYasha to be happy. If you can make him happy, then I would easily go back home a hundred times over."

"Your power will also be weaker without the rest of your soul."

"That's fine. Are you trying to persuade me to take back what I have allowed you to keep? Besides, it was your soul first. I'm just housing it right now."

Kikyou smiled as if pleased with Kagome's answer and placed her palm on the younger's forehead. "I'm not trying to persuade you to take it back. I am simply telling you this so that you won't be surprised when you go back home and feel different, because I am giving you back your soul."

"What!" Kagome exclaimed. "Why? You're supposed to be there for InuYasha!"

"I know. But I am already dead. I should be where I am supposed to be, not hanging onto this world."

"Kikyou, stop! Nee-san!" But Kagome couldn't stop what Kikyou was doing. A clear, white light slid out of Kikyou's chest and into Kagome's. Kikyou had a small, sad smile on her face as a rose colored light exploded in the private barrier they were in. Then the room vanished.

When InuYasha saw the pink barrier vanish along with the two priestesses inside it he broke. Both of the girls he cared about had vanished. It felt as if someone had ripped open his chest and pulled out his heart with their bare hands, stomped all over it and stopped the hole from closing. This hurt worse than any of the wounds he had ever received in his entire life. He curled up in the fetal position while mumbling the names of the two people who meant the most to him: his lover and his best friend.

Kagome opened her eyes to find herself leaning against the Goshinboku with her necklace clenched in her fist. She could feel the jewel that was now nestled near her heart. She could also tell that she did indeed have her whole soul back. It was kind of like when having long hair and then cutting it really short. After a while the change becomes natural. Then instead of letting the hair grow back, getting extensions and finally realizing how much length actually was missing.

Kagome took a deep breath in through her nose, exhaled through her mouth and clenched the necklace even tighter as the reality of the situation and her sacrifice sank in. Her breath caught in her throat and hot tears seeped through the dam that was supposed to be holding them back. She would never see them again. Her brothers, InuYasha and Miroku, her sisters, Sango and Kikyou, and her son, Shippou were lost to her forever as were her friends from the wolf tribes and Kirara. And even though Kagome had thought something like this would happen, she hadn't realized how much this would actually hurt her. Spending more than a year with one group of people would tend to get anyone close to that group. Her mother heard her daughter's muffled sobs as she was washing the lunch dishes and she raced out to comfort her, her apron flapping in the wind.

"Kagome, baby, what happened?" Ms. Higurashi begged.

"I-it's over!" Kagome hiccupped, burrowing herself deeper into her mother's embrace. "It's over a-and now I-I'll never s-see them ever again!"

"Baby," crooned Ms. Higurashi. "Come on, let's get you inside and cleaned up. I'll make some hot cocoa and you can get some sleep."

Kagome walked like a zombie up to her bathroom, her blank eyes still spilling tears.

**Kay! That was chapter 1! Please Review! No flames though, they hurt my feelings! Tell me what I can do better and what you would like to see. I might be able to make it happen. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here it is! Chapter 2! Thank you so much to everyone who favorited/alerted my story and a special thanks to ROUGEYTHEBAT who was the first and ONLY reviewer for chapter 1. Thanks so much! Anyway, thank you for moving on to chapter 2. Please read, enjoy and review! Warning: no Furuba in this chapter either. Sorry! That's the next one. I promise!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or Furuba. **

Kagome spent one week holed up in her room, not doing anything except crying, staring at the wall and sleeping. She was barely even eating. Not even bribing her with oden could get her to take more than a few bites. She just wanted to see her family again. Her other family. Right at the moment her mother knocked on her door, Kagome was staring at the wall. The soft rap broke her out of her memories and her mother walked into the room.

"Kagome dear," she began. "I know this is still painful, but it's been seven days. You have to go back to school. You missed a lot before and I can't home school you.

"But I can't. I won't go back to that school." Kagome replied dully.

"Then how about going to a different school? What about Kaibara High? It's kind of far away, but I'm sure we could find an apartment for you. You'd probably have to get a part time job too to help pay for the housing and food because the shrine really isn't making that much money. I mean, we can send you a weekly allowance, but it wouldn't really be a lot. However, we could make it work if that's what you want."

Kagome teared up again. "But won't you, Gramps and Souta miss me at all?"

"Of course we will 'Gome, but we want what will make you happy and if that's starting over then we are more than happy to do so."

Kagome's tears broke through the dam once again and she hugged her mother tightly. Ms. Higurashi smiled sadly as she smoothed her daughter's bed head.

After a few minutes Kagome's tears had dried up and she said in a weak voice, "Thank you mother. I would like that." '_I really need to get over this_' Kagome thought half-heartedly. She didn't think she'd ever be able to get over losing her family. '_Crying gets me nowhere and _they _wouldn't want me to be upset like this, so I won't cry. I won't!_' She couldn't even think their names much less say them out loud, even after a week! She was a hopeless case. '_I'll have to be strong; for them._'

"Okay!" Ms. Higurashi seemed much livelier now that she knew her daughter was planning on going back to school and getting her life back on track. "I'll go call a realtor."

It took all of summer break for Ms. Higurashi to find an apartment close enough to the school and in the right price range that was perfect for her daughter. Now normally, over summer, Kagome would be shopping and hanging out with her friends, but she didn't really feel like doing much. Plus, she had missed so much when she was with- when she was in the past that she had to take remedial classes all summer to catch up. But finally it was time for Kagome to pack everything she wanted to take with her and leave for her new home. She managed to fit everything in her new purple back pack. She couldn't bear to use the yellow one anymore because of all the memories it held, and the dark purple seemed to fit her mood better anyway. The yellow was for when she was a happier child. But the purple one was just as big, if not bigger, than the first one. So Kagome shoved all of her clothes and bathroom supplies into her bag and put two photo albums in as well as her cell phone. Each photo album was for each of her families when she felt she was ready to look through them. Kagome grimaced and swung her bag on her shoulder. She hadn't lost any of her physical strength from her trips to the past yet, but she really needed to find a dojo and a gym as soon as she could so she could keep the promise she made to Sango.

"Kagome! Let's go!" Souta called from the bottom of the shrine steps. Kagome walked under the arch and glanced back at the shrine and the well house.

"Good bye." She whispered sadly as she turned and left to go to her new life.

Kagome hugged her mother, brother and grandfather in the car, insisting that she could unpack and get everything done that she needed to for school the next day.

"Okay 'Gome." Ms. Higurashi sniffled. Her baby girl was growing up so fast. "Just take this. It's the school bag you have to have for Kaibara and your uniforms. Good luck baby. Call if you need anything. Oh! And here's your allowance for the first two weeks. I love you."

"Thanks mom, I love you too. Bye Gramps, bye Squirt." She hugged her grandpa and ruffled Souta's black hair before retreating to her apartment building, her arms laden with a briefcase bag, several dry cleaned uniforms and a wad of cash while her keys dangled from her pinky. Somehow Kagome managed to stumble up three flights of stairs and into her single bedroom single bath apartment. It was small, but sufficient for Kagome. There was also a small kitchenette off in the corner as well as a bed and a dresser and closet. The bathroom had already been stocked by Kagome's mother so all Kagome had to do was dress the bed and set the alarm on the bedside table before crashing completely even without dinner. She didn't have food anyway. She would have to take care of that later.

Kagome's dreams that night were jumbled. She caught flashes of when InuYasha and she got in fights; when InuYasha and Miroku got in fights; when Sango and InuYasha got in fights; when InuYasha and Shippou got in fights. Kagome laughed in her dream. InuYasha sure got in a lot of fights, didn't he? Then the dream world faded to solid black, leaving Kagome alone with her thoughts. She was so lonely. Even when she had been with her family she felt alone. She really did want to make friends, but she wasn't sure how to anymore. She had been shattered and she wasn't sure if she would be able to put the pieces back together again. The harsh cacophony of the alarm clock startled her out of her dream-memories and she automatically threw the offending object off the table. Thankfully, it didn't break. Kagome gave a tired half-grin as she replaced it and got up to get ready for her first day back at school. When she was done, she checked herself over in the bathroom mirror. She didn't look half bad if she did say so herself. The short blue skirt was at a similar length to her green one and the long sleeved blue sailor shirt had a white top under it and white trim. It was rather flattering and the long black socks accented Kagome's slim, muscular legs. Another plus was that the black shoes were comfortable and looked easy to run in. Kagome smiled at the thought of exercise. Sango had taught her to love exercise of any kind and even though thinking about her other family hurt, Kagome wasn't willing to let anything from the past go. It was too precious. During her musings, Kagome had walked out of the apartment with her bag and was walking down the sidewalk, fingering her necklace when her thoughts were interrupted by a hand dropping itself on her shoulder.

**Thanks for making it to the end! Now PLEASE review! I beg you! :) Hope you enjoy the next chapter. I promise that's when the Furuba characters will be introduced.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Listen to me! Here's chapter three! Thanks to Dark Void Princess 21 k15jensen and anonymous for reviewing! I really love you guys! To anonymous: it might seem like a YukixKagomexKyo pairing in ch. 6 but other than that spoiler, I'm not going to say what the end pairing will be. You might be able to tell though from the two main characters that I put under the summary. Unless I'm just trying to distract you. You may never know! Unless you read to the end. =) PLEASE REVIEW**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Furuba or InuYasha. **

**Warning: They do meet Furuba characters in this chapter! Woohoo!**

Kagome jumped and instinctively grasped the wrist of the person who had grabbed her and twisted it behind its owner's back. To Kagome's surprise, her opponent slid with the attack and flipped Kagome over her back to land painfully on the concrete. Kagome huffed at that less than gentle landing and quickly rolled out of the way of her assailant's kick that landed right where her midriff had been. With a short growl Kagome leaped to her feet and sank into a relaxed, defensive stance so that she would be able to attack or defend should she have to.

"Jeez!" a deep but feminine voice exclaimed in mock hurt. "Here I am trying to save a new girl from walking out in front of oncoming traffic and I nearly get my arm snapped off!"

"I'm sorry," Kagome mumbled as she relaxed once she was sure the other girl wasn't going to attack her. "You just surprised me. But you seem to be able to defend yourself just fine."

"Well," the girl pretended to think. "Judging by your uniform, you're new at Kaibara High. That's where I go to school too. And, for the most part, Kaibara lets in decent students so you should be okay." Suddenly the blonde girl smiled and held out her hand. "I'm Uotani Arisa. And this," she waved her hand to the girl walking leisurely up behind her, "Is Hanajima Saki." Hanajima had long black hair plaited down her back and pale skin. Her eyes were dark, but to Kagome she was very pretty. Uotani had a very tom-boyish quality about her from her long, modest skirt to her blond hair that partially covered her eyes.

"Nice to meet you Uotani-san and Hanajima-san. My name is Higurashi Kagome." Kagome replied as she shook Uotani's hand.

"Likewise, 'Gome-chan." Uotani replied. "And you can just call me Uo. Most people do."

Kagome smiled. Uo seemed to be a very nice, if a bit brash, person. "Thank you Uo-chan. That's very nice of you."

"You have very soothing electrical signals Kagome-chan. You may call me Hana."

Kagome glanced strangely at Hana before focusing her power to find that her aura was slightly demonic. It reminded Kagome somewhat of the Thunder Brothers aura. That could be where Hana had gotten the ability to detect intent through electrical signals. Kagome then smiled and decided that if Hana was able to say that Kagome had nice electrical signals without the fear of sounding like a freak, Kagome could reveal that she too could detect what a person was like. "Thank you Hana-chan. You both have very clear and bright auras."

Uo's eyes widened and Hana smiled serenely. Kagome could tell that these girls would prove to be faithful and loyal friends. She cast a careless glance at her silver and black watch before a shocked and panicked look plastered itself across her features.

"Come on!" She cried, momentarily forgetting that she was supposed to be composed and still mourning, not carefree enough to show her emotions to two practical strangers. "I have to get to school fast!" Uo and Hana calmly watched their new friend speed to the school at a pace no normal person could match on an early Monday morning.

"We'll catch up with her I guess," Hana sighed. Uo grunted in agreement and they continued their walk to school at a measured pace.

Kagome slid around the corner as she hastily read the signs that were leading her to the front office. She finally made it to the right door and put her hands on her knees to catch her breath. She quickly regained her composure before coolly stalking into the office and waiting patiently with a bored expression on her face for the lady at the desk to finish whatever she was doing. The lady glanced up at Kagome with a bored expression and asked with a distinctly western accent, "Yes? Can I help you with something?" Her voice was as cold as her green eyes which were framed by thick wire rimmed glasses. A beaded chain wrapped around her neck from each arm of her glasses.

Kagome was taken slightly aback by the lady's rudeness, but nonetheless, she replied, "I need my paperwork. I'm a new student."

"Name?"

"Higurashi Kagome." Kagome stood awkwardly at the desk while the lady typed on her keyboard and smacked her gum loudly. Several tense minutes later a printer whirred to life and spat out several sheets of paper that the blonde desk lady threw at Kagome before going back to her computer to play solitaire. Kagome took the papers and quickly strode out of the room.

The second she stepped out of the room she saw Uo and Hana leaning against the wall across the hall. "You guys could've come in you know," Kagome accused them playfully.

"Are you kidding?" Uo exclaimed. "There's no way we would be caught dead in the same room as that woman if we could help it!" Kagome chuckled as Uo continued, "But anyway, let us see the papers. You might be in the same class as us."

Kagome placed her folded papers into her friend's hand and waited as she flipped through them with Hana peering over her shoulder. "Yes!" Uo exclaimed while Hana smiled happily. "You are in the same class as us! It says here," Uo flipped through the stack until she found the right paper, "That there were two spots left open at the beginning of the year. The first transfer was Sohma Kyo and you Kagome, will be taking up the final spot."

"Great!" Kagome agreed. "Would you guys mind showing me where the classroom is and maybe introducing me to some other people. I mean, it's not like I don't like you two! That's not it at all! You guys are amazing and kind, but I'm sure you have other friends too and I would like to meet them as well!"

Uo laughed loudly while Hana pulled Kagome into a one armed hug. Uo wrapped her arm around Kagome's other shoulder and said, "You know what? I think you and Tohru-kun could be great friends! And we'll introduce you to the Sohma's as well. They're not too bad. After all, Tohru-kun lives with them and they're very kind to her."

Kagome smiled as her new friends led her down the twisting halls to their classroom. This year was going to be tough, but Kagome was sure that she would be able to handle it as long as she had her friends with her.


	4. Chapter 4

**This is later than the last few chapters but this stroy is being updated faster than any of my other stories! I'm also getting more feedback with this story than any of my others! That definitley inspires me to continue writing it! Yosh! This chapter is mostly filler, but it's important because it shows how relationships develope. Also, I'm kind of sucky at writing romance which is why this is not under the romance genre, but I'm researching (AKA reading lots of romancy fics) so I hope that when I do put in the romance it doesnt suck so bad. Anyway, please enjoy and drop me a review at the end! I love all of you who review/fave/alert this story! Thanks so much! You are my inspiration!**

The following month passed rather quickly and Kagome became very good friends with Tohru, Yuki, Kyo, Hatsuharu and Momiji as well as becoming closer with Uo and Hana. She had even met Hana's little brother who had discussed curses with her. Kagome smiled as she lay in her bed and remembered all the adventures she had had over the past month.

That first day of school Uo and Hana had introduced her to Sohma Yuki who, true to his school-wide nickname, was quite princely in every way. He was polite, respectful and very cute. They also introduced her to his cousins Sohma Kyo, Sohma Hatsuharu and Sohma Momiji. Kyo had been rather rude to her and his attitude was thoroughly off putting, but Kagome was completely undeterred. She had dealt with enough stubborn people in her lifetime to know how to handle them, so she simply ignored the block headed boy and gave her attention to everyone else. At least, that's what it seemed on the outside. Kagome was intrigued by Kyo and had promised herself that she would figure him out by the end of the year. Hatsuharu, Kagome found out, was quite the flirt. He also had a side to him that was extremely violent. However, aside from the occasional teasing flirting, Haru, as she had taken to calling him, was very brotherly. He protected Kagome from the rude girls that were in Yuki's fan club and the persistent guys that thought they had a chance with 'the hot new girl'. He was also there to help Kagome with tough math homework even though he was a year younger than her. Haru defended her against Kyo's rude and hurtful comments and the only rule that all the Sohma's seemed to share was a high regard for personal space. Kagome found that out when she saw Kyo sidestep an overexcited girl and watched her crash headlong into a streetlamp. He had gotten a stern, and loud, lecture from Kagome on how to properly shut a girl down. Haru had beat him up rather thoroughly after he had shouted vulgar things at Kagome. Kagome thought it was sweet that Haru stuck up for her even though she knew that she could take down Yuki and Haru without breaking a sweat. Not to mention Kyo who couldn't beat Haru _or_ Yuki. Kagome had found a spectacular dojo and visited it on a daily basis to keep up her skills like she had promised Sango she would. The sensei of the dojo was impressed by Kagome's skills and had her test for the next belt rank at every opportunity. However, Kagome didn't visit the dojo to climb the ranks. She wanted to train to get stronger and the sensei agreed. Kagome could continue at her own pace, but she could only learn more if she tested for the next belt. She also honed her priestess abilities nightly before she meditated prior to going to sleep and she felt that she was getting better at controlling her power. Now she could sense where all of her friends were in the city. The tricky part that Kagome was working on was to narrow down her search and be able to tell which soul light was whose. Kagome was almost there, she could feel it.

The last Sohma she had met was Momiji. He was the smallest Sohma, but not the youngest. He was in fact fifteen years old even though he looked to be twelve. He had short blond hair and big brown eyes. The first time Kagome met him he had thrown himself at her, but before he could envelope her in a hug, Haru had grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him to a stop. Momiji really reminded Kagome of Shippou, but she tried not to show how much she missed her little boy. She just enjoyed Momiji's seemingly endless amount of energy and reveled in his apparent innocence.

Kagome smiled when she recalled saying rather bluntly, "How come all of you Sohma's are so gorgeous? It's not fair that the rest of the world has to look average while one family gets the best looks." Kagome almost laughed out loud to herself when she remembered the embarrassed looks on the Sohma's faces and the appalled and shocked looks on her female friends' faces. "What? You know it's true." Kagome had said.

"I knew there was a reason we were friends," Haru had said. "We both agree that I'm devilishly handsome!"

"Shut up Haru!" Kyo had growled while blushing pink.

"Aww, Haru, Kyo-kun's embarrassed!" Kagome had exclaimed.

"Shut up! I am not!" Kyo had whined. That was when Haru had gotten upset with Kyo for using untoward language with Kagome and challenged Kyo to a fight that he proceeded to win.

"Oh Kyo," Kagome had sighed while she pulled out bandages from her small school bag. "You really should either learn how to defend yourself better or stop picking fights with Haru. He beats you every time."

"One of these days I'll win Kagome! You'll see! Then I'll beat that damn rat Yuki!"

"How come you call Yuki a rat Kyo-kun?" Kagome had asked curiously. She had felt strange auras around all of the Sohma's she had met and strangely enough, Yuki's did seem sort of rat-ish. Kyo's seemed kind of cat-ish and Haru's and Momiji's seemed animalistic as well.

"None of your business wench!" Kyo had shouted. Kagome had then paused in what she was doing and stared off into space for a few seconds that felt like years to her as tears flooded her eyes. She hastily stood up and bent her head so that her bangs shielded her eyes before running off toward the stairs that led to the roof. Haru had stood up as well and glanced angrily at Kyo before chasing after the girl he considered his younger sister even though she was older than him.

"Kagome!" he called. "Kagome wait up!" He chased Kagome all the way up the stairs, surprised that the sprightly girl could outrun him. Kagome collapsed at the top of the staircase and tears spilled down her cheeks. "Kagome, what's wrong?" He asked softly as he laid his hand on her shoulder. She turned her reddened eyes to his grey ones and had to hold herself back from launching herself at him and wrapping her arms around him. Nobody had hugged her since she had moved into her new apartment and she missed the physical contact.

"Nothing's wrong Haru-kun," Kagome replied brokenly. "Kyo just reminded me of someone. I haven't seen him in a while and I never will again."

"Oh." Haru couldn't really think of anything else to say. He wasn't very experienced with distraught girls.

"I'll be fine. Just give me a minute." Kagome took deep, shuddering breaths and wiped her eyes. She gave Haru a watery smile and stood up. "Thanks for being here for me Haru. You're a great friend." She bowed to him and began to walk back down the stairs to gather her things from under their tree before returning to class. What Kagome missed when she turned her back was Haru's bitter smile. _I wonder if she would still think that about me if she knew I turned into a cow and can't receive or give hugs to her or any other girl._

That whole day Kagome didn't talk to or even look at Kyo. She stared pointedly ahead at the teacher and tried to ignore the distractingly pulsating auras of the Sohmas that were in the same class as her. At the end of the day Kagome walked home alone and didn't say good bye to any of her friends. As she was walking down the street she heard a voice calling out, "Hey! Kagome! Wait up!" Kagome recognized the voice as Kyo's and determinedly kept walking without turning her head. "Hey! Come on!" Kyo shouted.

"What?" Kagome turned around exasperatedly. "What do you want Sohma?"

Kyo stumbled at the use of his last name. "I, uh, I wanted to uh, to see if we could talk."

Kagome rolled her eyes and turned around before beckoning him to follow her. He trailed her until they reached her apartment building and she unlocked the door. "Come on in." Kagome followed Kyo into her apartment and grabbed a water bottle from her refrigerator. "You want anything to drink?" She cursed the manners that had been drilled into her.

"No thanks."

Kagome sat on her bed and looked pointedly at Kyo. "What did you need, Sohma?"

"I wanted to… apologize." Kyo looked at the floor before his rust-red eyes connected with Kagome's blue ones. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

Kagome felt her heart stop at the honest look in Kyo's eyes. She took a deep breath and decided that Kyo hadn't meant to hurt her feelings. He had said a lot of rude things to her and the only one that she had taken to heart was the one that reminded her of InuYasha. "I accept your apology." She finally said. "And Kyo, I'm sorry too." Kyo looked a little happier at the sound of Kagome using his first name again. She still sounded depressed, but it was an improvement.

"Wait, why are you sorry?" Kyo asked.

Kagome smiled wryly and said, "I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. What you said reminded me of someone else. I just miss them, that's all."

"Oh, well that's fine. So," Kyo said, fishing around for another topic. "You live here by yourself?"

Kagome let out a short, honest laugh. "Yeah, I needed to get away from my old life so I live here. I'm looking for a job to help pay for it, but I can't really find anything."

"Well, Tohru works as part of the cleaning staff at a hotel. I can see if she can get you a job there if you want."

"That's so sweet Kyo! I would love that! Thanks!" Kyo flushed and mumbled something that sounded like a 'you're welcome.'

So, because of Kyo and Tohru, Kagome now had a job and a stronger friendship with both of them. While she was in her bed Kagome continued to remember the free time she had spent with her friends. She had stayed over at Uo's house and Hana's house and had Uo, Hana and Tohru over at her apartment. However, she had never been to Tohru's house. She knew Tohru lived with the Sohma's but she had never visited. The group always had lunch together under the Sakura tree outside of the school and studied together when necessary. Occasionally they would go to movies or the park together and they learned a lot about each other. But no one was aware that Kagome was still having nightmares about her old family or that she was even missing them. And Kagome, Uo and Hana weren't aware that the Sohmas and Tohru had a secret that they were still keeping. But that was all going to change.

**Okay! So it's a cliffy. Kind of. Please REVIEW!Thanks so much!**


	5. Chapter 5

**HEEY! This chapter's up a little late comparedv to the other ones, but I hope you enjoy it! Please Review and don't flame me please! I do well with constuctive criticism but not rude, unhelpful comments. ENJOY!**

The next day was Friday and Kagome was a little sad. Sure, she could see her friends on the weekends, but it was more fun at school when everybody was together. She trudged out of her apartment and walked to school, meeting up with Uo and Hana as per usual. They made it through the first half of the school day without falling asleep and finally it was time for the hour of freedom: lunch.

Kagome was the first to the Sakura tree and she sat down hesitantly. She didn't like to be first because then she could be an easy target for the Prince Yuki Fan Club girls. And speaking of the she-devils-

"Higurashi!" Motoko, the president of the Prince Yuki Fan Club, barked. "You've been hanging around Prince Yuki for a month now like poison ivy. You had better stand down!"

"And if I don't?" Kagome asked tiredly. She was sick of being wary around these girls and she was confident that they couldn't hurt her.

"Well then… Help me out here!" Matoko demanded, turning to her minions.

"Listen Matoko," Kagome stood and allowed a bit of her power to be released to blow her hair around menacingly. "I don't take crap from anyone, do you hear me? If Yuki-kun doesn't want me around I'll leave, but he's been nothing but welcoming since I was introduced to him. So leave me alone and I'll leave you alone." When Matoko didn't look convinced, Kagome added, "And I won't have Hana's little brother curse you." The group of girls visibly blanched.

"Fine Higurashi. You win this round. But we will have Prince Yuki one of these days!" Matoko declared as she and the rest of the fan club turned and flounced away.

"Miss Kagome!"

Kagome turned at the sound of her name and smiled softly. "Hey Kyo-kun, hey Yuki-kun!" she missed the two of them blush, especially Kyo since he hadn't been the one to call her name.

"Was Minagawa-san bothering you?" Hatsuharu asked as he came up behind them.

"Hey Haru-kun! No, she wasn't. We were just talking." Kagome smiled softly.

"'Gome-chan!"

Kagome smiled at Uo, Hana and Tohru. "Hey guys!" The group sat down and pulled out their bentos. Kagome ended up sitting between Kyo and Yuki and across from Haru and Momiji. Tohru was sitting on the other side of Yuki and Hana and Uo were sitting between Haru and Tohru. The two girls may have adopted Kagome into their group, but their main focus was still on the well being of Tohru. Kagome didn't mind though. She understood that Tohru had been there first and she was okay with that. The boys seemed to be treating her and Tohru equally, so that was fine by her. And that was also why she turned to them when she needed help with something.

"Hey Yuki," she began. "I need to find a quiet place to study, but I don't want to use the library. Could you give me a full tour of the school so I can find a good spot?"

"Yes, it would be my pleasure." Yuki replied as he prepared to stand up. He held out his hand to help Kagome to her feet. She took his hand and blushed prettily, still not being used to his polite manner considering InuYasha had hardly been chivalrous unless the situation was dire.

"Thanks," she mumbled.

"Don't do anything inappropriate you two!" Uo spoke up.

Now it was both of their turn to blush. "Thanks Uo-chan," Kagome grumbled as she pulled Yuki toward the school by his hand. Nobody noticed Kyo's mouth tighten into a firm line as the two walked quickly toward the school hand in hand.

"So Miss Kagome, why do you need a quiet place in the school?" Yuki asked, trying to break the awkward silence that had descended on them.

"Oh, I just like to have a place I can go to if I need to get away. Sometimes the apartment just isn't enough."

"You live in an apartment?"

"You've never been to my apartment before? Yeah, I do." Another awkward pause fell upon the two of them. This time Kagome tried to break it. "So Yuki, leeks or carrots?"

"What?"

"Leeks, or carrots?"

"Definitely leeks. I grow them actually."

"Leeks?" Kagome asked incredulously. "Carrots are so much better!"

Yuki laughed softly at Kagome's reaction and said, "My turn now. Rats or cows?"

"Hmm, that's a strange question. How 'bout dogs?" At Kagome's answer Yuki tripped and almost fell flat on his face, except Kagome caught him. Around the waist. She steadied him and pulled him back to his feet with her arms still around his waist.

"Um, are you okay?" Kagome asked. Yuki was staring at her with eyes as big around as tennis balls.

Yuki shook himself out of his stupor and blinked rapidly. "Kagome," he paused and Kagome drew away.

"I-I'm sorry Yuki-kun. I-I didn't mean to. I was just trying to stop you from falling."

Yuki was still staring at Kagome and it was making her uncomfortable. Suddenly he stepped closer to Kagome and said softly, "Can I please hug you again Miss Kagome?"

"What?" Kagome exclaimed.

Her shocked cry seemed to shake Yuki out of his stupor and he stepped away. "I'm sorry Miss Kagome. Never mind."

"No problem, just, why would you want to hug me? I thought you and the rest of your family didn't like to be touched."

"That's not it. It's just we… well, if you come over to our house this afternoon I'll tell you. I promise."

Kagome looked curiously at Yuki. He seemed to be very talkative for some reason. "Okay Yuki-kun. I'll come over today right after class, but I want to know everything. I can kind of tell you and your family are different, but I'm not sure how and maybe I can help you in exchange for information."

Yuki now looked surprised but he shrugged it off and nodded. "After school then."

"Well, maybe not right after school." Kagome digressed. "I have something to do then I need to take a shower. I also have work with Tohru, so maybe I can come over tonight. I'll walk Tohru home and maybe stay the night with you guys if that's okay?"

Yuki nodded numbly and walked Kagome around the rest of the school in silence. This one wasn't awkward though, it was contemplative. Kagome was studying Yuki's aura and Yuki was thinking about what Kagome had said. "I can kind of tell you and your family are different." He would have to ask her about that later.

A sudden thought hit him. "Miss Kagome, the streets are dangerous at night. Especially at the time you and Tohru get off."

"Don't worry Yuki-kun. I have been walking myself to and from work for the past three and a half weeks and I've already taken care of some of the perverts who thought they could have me as an easy prey. It'll be easy to get to your house and make sure Tohru is safe at the same time."

Yuki's violet eyes bored into Kagome's as he looked to make sure she was being honest. What he saw nearly knocked him off his feet. There was determination, confidence, happiness and sadness swimming in their oceanic depths. "Okay Miss Kagome. We should be heading back to the tree now to get our things. Shall we?" Kagome giggled and took Yuki's proffered arm as he led the way back to the tree and their friends.

**People, i hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please review kindly! and thank you to all of my reviewers. I love you all so very much! I'd love to put your names in here, but I don't remember them all and I'm kind of too lazy to look them up, Just know that your support means soooo much to me! please Review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi! Please enjoy and REVIEW!**

**disclaimer: Dont own Furuba or InuYasha :p**

Their friends' mouths dropped when they say Yuki and Kagome walking back to the group arm in arm. Everybody that is, except for Tohru and Kyo who looked down at the ground and Hatsuharu who glared suspiciously at Yuki. Kagome had a soft smile on her face and Yuki had a glazed look in his eyes, both expressions which could easily be misconstrued. They both picked up their bentos and headed back to the classroom in complete silence. The whole day seemed to pass by at a snail's pace including Kagome's defense lessons which she usually enjoyed.

"Kagome-chan, you're distracted." Sensei said, completely stating the obvious.

"Yes Sensei." Kagome panted as she tried to defend herself against her opponent. The only protective gear they wore was a headpiece. The rest was up to the students to protect using the defensive techniques Sensei had taught them. Kagome grunted as her opponent kicked her hard in the stomach. Normally Kagome would have been able to block that, but her mind wasn't focusing on protecting her, it was concentrating on what would happen when she arrived at Yuki's house. Her opponent followed with a roundhouse kick to her back causing Kagome to hit the mat hard. She coughed and tried to roll to the side, but she was too slow. Her opponent, Tino, flipped her on her back and twisted her arm behind her.

"Do you yield?" he asked.

Kagome ground her teeth. She hadn't lost a fight, sorry, sparring match, since she signed up at the dojo and all of the other students were just waiting for the opportunity to kick her teeth in. Kagome tried to wriggle out of the arm bar, but Tino had her in a very strong hold and she couldn't move. "Fine. I yield." Kagome spat.

After her humiliating defeat Kagome ran home and showered before walking to the hotel. She picked up towels and sheets to wash as well as scrubbed mirrors, sinks, and toilets and vacuumed the floors. She also spoke with Tohru about random things and laughed about the stupid antics of their families and friends. Finally, finally it was time to walk home.

"Tohru," Kagome said. "I'm walking you home tonight. Yuki said he wanted to talk with me and that I could stay over tonight. You don't mind do you?"

"N-no Kagome-chan. I don't mind at all."

"Something's bothering you though," Kagome decided as the two walked down the dark street.

"NO! Nothing is bothering me! W-why would you think that?" Tohru stuttered.

"Yuki-kun." Tohru flinched at the single word that came from Kagome's mouth. "You like him, don't you?" Tohru didn't answer. She just continued walking, the normal happy look on her face had slipped and worry now shined in her eyes.

"He doesn't like me does he?"

"I don't know Tohru-chan," Kagome said truthfully. "But if he doesn't then he's missing out. You're brilliant, sweet, and very friendly."

"You don't like him?" Tohru asked incredulously.

Kagome smiled softly. "Of course I do. He's nice, definitely good looking and a great listener. But I don't think I'm ready for a relationship. I don't know if I ever will be again," she whispered.

Tohru seemed to be comforted by this and fell quiet. The rest of the walk was simple. Kagome kicked the butt of some pervert trying to get them to follow him to his house and Tohru hung back, watching in awe as Kagome beat the man to a pulp. By the time they reached The Sohma house, after travelling through the wooded path and being led by Tohru, it was eleven thirty.

Tohru pulled out her key and walked into the large, old-style house to find Yuki reading a newspaper and Kyo fiddling with the bottom of his shirt. There was also an older, but no less handsome, man pouring over some papers and writing fervently as if he had a good idea.

"Um, hello?" Tohru spoke up. All three heads shot up and Yuki locked eyes with Kagome. Before either Yuki or Kyo could do anything, Shigure leaped to his feet and bounded over to the two high school girls.

**Sorry its so short! But if I get just 1 review, which should be pretty easy since you guys are so amazing with reviewing, I will post chapter 7. **

**Thanks to TheElegantFaerie fo your kind review!**

**To KuroTenshi45- That was my favorite part too! I loved it!**

**Thanks to Dark Neko :)**

**AnimeFreakAmanda- You're so nice! Thanks a lot!**

**Rin Tolentino- Thanks for reviewing, but I dont think this is going to be a KagxYuki fic. I apologize, but... Sorry.**

**sessxkagxyoko- thanks for the review! Btw sessxkag is a great pairing!**

**Lozenger12- Thanks! Here's more for you!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Alright! So I did promise that I would post another chapter if I got 1 review! Thanks SessxKagxYoko! You're amazing! The chapter wasnt even up for half an hour and you already reviewed! Thanks so much! Please Read and Enjoys and Drop me a REVIEW at the ends! Thanks so muches!**

"Hello! My name is Sohma Shigure!" Shigure announced happily. "Kyo told me you were pretty, but he never said how stunning you truly were!"

"S-shut up!" Kyo spluttered, both his and Kagome's faces turning red. "I never said anything like that!"

Shigure smiled happily before his smile slid off his face into a serious look.

"Kagome, Yuki told me about what happened between you two at school today." Shigure paused and allowed his words to sink in. Kagome blushed at the memory and Tohru squinted bemusedly at her. Kyo however, was glaring darkly at the floor. Again he was being shut out of the loop. "We need to discuss what is wrong."

"Wrong? I didn't mean to touch him! I promise! He was falling. I just wanted to make sure he didn't hurt himself!" Kagome blustered.

"No," Shigure laughed. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's just, our family is cursed." Kagome didn't say anything at the revelation; she just stared blankly at Shigure and studied his soul and aura carefully. "I know it's hard to believe but it's true."

"It's not hard for me to believe." Kagome answered. "I can see it now that I know what to look for."

"Excuse me?" Yuki asked politely.

"Yeah, I can see your auras. Yuki, you're aura is like a rat and Shigure-san, yours is like a…" Kagome's eyes widened. "A dog!" Her blue eyes gleamed happily as she stared at Shigure with star struck eyes. Shigure beamed at the attention while Kyo glared at the floor even harder at being ignored for the second time in less than two minutes. "Can I please have a demonstration of this curse so I can understand it better?"

Shigure smiled perversely. "Dear Tohru, would you please give me and Yuki-kun a hug?" Tohru flushed darkly and squeaked before Shigure pulled her into his arms. There was a poof of smoke and a black dog replaced the black haired man. "Now it's Yuki's turn!" the Shigure-dog sang. Tohru turned to Yuki questioningly. He held open his arms, blushing slightly and Tohru happily hugged him. There was another poof and Yuki was a small grey rat.

"This is incredible," Kagome breathed. "So when hugged by girls you guys turn into animals." There was silence as Kagome took in what she had seen and just as Shigure opened his mouth to ask Kagome how she could see their auras, Kyo jumped to his feet and slammed his hands on the table.

"I'm obviously not needed here, so I'm leaving." He hissed and stalked out the door.

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru exclaimed.

"I'll go after him Tohru-chan," Kagome smiled grimly. "I have experience calming down stubborn animals." She said cryptically.

"Miss Kagome," Yuki said. "Will you be okay? It's not safe to go wandering through the woods after dark."

"That's okay Yuki-kun. I'll be fine. Just ask Tohru." With that comment tossed over her shoulder, Kagome slipped on her shoes and raced out the door after Kyo. She couldn't see him but she could sense his aura as well as that of an inhuman being. "Oh no. This is not good, this is not good, this is _so not good_!" Kagome mumbled to herself. She ran through the woods as she tried to get closer to Kyo so she could protect him. The demonic aura was advancing on him and he was completely unaware. Subconsciously Kagome's hand flew to her necklace as she tried to reassure herself that she could protect herself and Kyo easily.

"Kyo! Kyo, come here!" Kagome demanded frantically as she pushed herself to run faster after the stubborn cat. Kagome cried out softly as she tripped over a tree root and twisted her ankle. "Ow! That hurt!" Suddenly a black shadow even darker than the empty forest descended upon Kagome. She quickly threw up a barrier and rolled back up against the monstrous tree trunk of the root she had just tripped over. She hadn't sensed that the demon had changed direction while she was so intent on finding Kyo.

"Who are you?" She demanded of the Night Shadow demon.

"I want the jewel priestess!" it cooed in a smooth voice that was soft as a summer breeze, completely ignoring her question in favor of his demand.

Kagome stood there for a moment, lost in her shock. She had been in her time for well over two months and no demon had come after her looking for the jewel. By the time she shook herself out of her stupor the Night Shadow had slithered silently over the forest floor and, where Kagome assumed its face was, stopped directly in front of her nose. She gasped as the formless black figure shifted and appeared to absorb whatever light there was shining from the moon. Kagome was glad the tree was there to support her when the Night Shadow was done changing because he had taken on the form of InuYasha. He was an exact replica except for his eyes. Instead of InuYasha's deep, honey gold eyes, Kagome was transfixed by a pair of too large, iridescent violet eyes. When he spoke, his voice was just as smooth and persuasive as InuYasha's was when he dropped his tough exterior and let Kagome see that he was hurting. "Kagome, please, give me the Shikon no Tama."

"InuYasha," Kagome breathed. Subconsciously she knew that the figure in front of her was not her best friend and former crush, but there was something about those odd eyes that made her want to believe that InuYasha had come back to her. "I can't. It would kill me to give it to you. I'm sorry." Tears pooled in her cerulean eyes but the impersonator was ruthless.

His persuasive tone changed to outrage and mercilessness. "Then that is a sacrifice I will have to make!" He had walked in a circle as Kagome was speaking and now he was about twenty feet from her. He lunged across that short space with his claws outstretched, aiming for Kagome's head. She let out a shrill cry as she dodged the attack, but his hand still grazed the top of her head. The force of the strike and the sharpness of his nails cut her head and left her dizzy but still miraculously alive. For now. Reaching up to her necklace, she grasped the familiar shape of the bow and arrow and pushed her power into the silver charm. It popped off the chain and grew rapidly as it floated up to the perfect height for Kagome to grab it.

Kagome made to fire the first arrow but the fake InuYasha locked eyes with her again and spoke in an almost believably hurt voice as he asked, "Kagome, would you really come after me with a bow again? I thought you were different from Kikyou."

Kagome froze and shrank the bow and arrow back into its charm form in a trance. "You are right. I can't do it. Not with a bow. But," Kagome reached back up to her necklace and with lightning speed enlarged her Hiraikotsu. "I can attack you with this!" Sudden nausea swept over Kagome and her vision blurred as blood from her head wound trickled into her eyes. She leaned heavily on her weapon as a sudden rustle of bushes drew 'InuYasha's' attention away from the weakened priestess who breathed a heavy sigh of relief until she saw who was coming out of said bushes.

**Thanks Again SessxKagxYoko! Minna, Please kindly Review Now! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Heyhey! Kay, you reviewers are so freakin' amazing, I decided that today is update day! I really dont have specialized days for updating but who cares! I'm glad you are all loving this! It's only because of the fantastic feedback that I've been getting that I keep updating. :) Well, that and the fact that I havent hit writers block for this story and I have a lot of chapters already typed out and I'm on summer break! Although, with volleyball at least three days a week at school, it doesnt feel like much of a break! :) But, enough rambling. I'll thank most reviews at the end, but first...**

**AnimeFreakAmanda: First off, thanks for reviewing! :) Second off, you are BRILLIANT! haha! I love that you took a guess. I tried to make it obvious, but nobody else even tried. :( And you got it on your first try! I love you!**

**Disclaimer: I dont own Furuba or Inuyasha.**

Kyo slammed his hands down on the table and hissed, "I'm obviously not needed here, so I'm leaving," and ran with the speed of a bullet out the front door. He barely heard Tohru call out his name as he disappeared outside.

_Nobody ever wants me! I'm always left out of everything! _Kyo ranted silently. _In the family I'm ignored because I'm the cat. I never _chose_ to be that stupid furball. At school I'm isolated or picked on because of my hair. And tonight, what was up with that! Was everybody purposely ignoring me? Kagome too! She never ignores me. And… Why does it hurt so much that she did? I'm not really mad at Tohru, I'm always mad at Yuki and Shigure is always irritating. So why do I feel so hurt and angry?_ An image of Kagome looking with sparkling, happy eyes at Shigure flashed through his brain causing him to slug a nearby tree as he skidded to a stop. He hadn't realized just how far he had run in his haste to get away from the pain and irritation that was his family. Suddenly a scream rent the night air in two and, although the voice was distorted in pain, Kyo recognized it as Kagome's voice. His crimson eyes widened in alarm as he unconsciously ran as fast as he could toward where the noise had come from. As he ran branches whipped at his face and brambles tore at his clothes but he paid them no heed as he ran to Kagome. A thousand different scenarios raced through his mind as he prepared himself for the worst, but nothing could prepare him for what he was about to see.

He was approaching a bush when he stumbled to a stop because he heard voices talking heatedly to eachother.

A suave, rough voice spoke up. "Kagome, would you really come after me with a bow again? I thought you were different from Kikyou."

Then Kagome spoke softly. "You're right, I can't. But I can attack you with this!" A pink light lit up the clearing and Kyo decided that it was time to reveal himself. He pushed through the bush and nearly fell to the forest floor in shock and disbelief. A young man with waist length white hair and _ears_, fuzzy white puppy ears, on top of his head looked as if he was about to lunge at Kagome who was leaning heavily on a huge beige boomerang. Blood was slowly trickling its way down her forehead from her hairline.

"K-Kyo-kun," Kagome sighed softly. She was glad that he was okay, but this was not a good time for him to interfere. "I'm glad you're okay. Could you please go back to the house? I'll meet you there."

Kyo looked into Kagome's soft, blue eyes and almost agreed until he noticed the blood still dripping from her head.

"No way!" he disagreed stubbornly. "I'm not leaving you with a creep like him!" He jerked his head in 'InuYasha's' direction who simply leered at him.

"Mm, Kagome," he hummed. "Maybe you'd be more cooperative if I got rid of this bug." Then he leaped at Kyo, claws outstretched.

"No!" Kagome cried as she threw a barrier around Kyo. 'InuYasha' bounced off the pink shield and skidded across the dirt floor until he rolled back to his feet. Kagome swayed slightly and wiped the blood out of her eyes. 'InuYasha' glared furiously at the girl and ran at her at full speed. Kagome focused as hard as she could. She would only have one shot at this. She raised the Hiraikotsu easily and swung it with all her mind right at her target. "You are not InuYasha!" she screamed as tears dripped out of her eyes and the weapon made a solid contact with its intended target. The Night Shadow demon split into a thousand shadows trying to escape so they could regroup and form another attack at a later date, but Kagome was too quick for the demon. She sent a wave of her power out after the pieces that were escaping and they shriveled into little bits. Kagome swooned at the sudden loss of energy and as soon as the Hiraikotsu returned smoothly into her hands she shrunk it and collapsed to the ground. The barrier around Kyo flickered and disappeared and he ran as fast as he could to the fallen girl.

"Kagome! Kagome, wake up!" he was truly worried. He had never seen someone do the things Kagome had, but the blood hadn't stopped flowing yet and Kagome wasn't answering his calls. Worriedly, he stood up and lifted the girl into his arms. He glanced strangely at her as he began running back to the house. She was heavier than she looked!

Kyo finally made it back to the house and slammed open the door, splitting the panel and doorframe.

"Kyo! How many times have I told you not to break my house?" Shigure whined.

"Shut up!" Kyo growled. "And call Hatori. Kagome needs a doctor right now."

Yuki hissed angrily while Shigure hurriedly ran to the phone and Tohru rushed to make up a guest room.

"You… extremely… idiot!" Yuki exploded incoherently when everybody except Kyo and the unconscious Kagome had left the room. "How could you let her get so hurt! You know, she went looking for you all on her own! Kagome actually cares enough about you to go after you and you let her get knocked out and bloody all over her head!"

"Shut up you damn rat! I know! I tried to help her but she did something to me. Put something around me, I guess. I couldn't get out of it to help her until she passed out and it was too late."

"Psh!" Yuki huffed and shouldered his way past Kyo who nearly dropped Kagome in the process. Kyo growled softly to himself, but decided that getting Kagome into a warm bed was probably better for the girl in question so he followed the direction Tohru had travelled in. It turned out the guest bedroom Tohru had chosen was the one right next door to his bedroom and farthest from Yuki's. Kyo smirked at the arrangement but wondered if Tohru had purposefully chosen that particular room or if it had simply been a coincidence. Either way she was away from that damn rat and that was all he cared about. For some reason.

**Okie Dokies! Time for thanks!**

**Mermain123: Thanks for the inspiring review! your review was what touched me so much that I had to update, just for you! I hope you liked it and that it was up to your standards in all aspects! :)**

**animelver14: Thanks for being so kind!**

**Dark Neko 4000: Thanks so much for the review! Now you know what happened!**

**Dark Void Princess 21: Your welcome for the quick updates! I like to keep my readers happy! And I'm glad you like the drama!**

**Now, PLEASE REVIEW! They make me so happy and give me a reason to put up chapters! Remember, I have them written, I just want to know that people want to read it. After all, why take up space if nobody cares? Please tell me you care in a REVIEW! :) 3 you all!**

** -Anonymoose13**


	9. Chapter 9

**M'Kay. This is not chapter 9! Chapter 9 is after this. I meant to put this up before chapter 9 because I think it fits there. Maybe. But I got a request fot more YukixTohru and KyoxKagome. The KyoxKag is coming later but I felt I should put up the YukixTohru now cause it isnt later in the story all that much. It isnt necessary to read this to understand the story but if you want to, GO AHEAD and please remember to REVIEW! Nicely please:)**

Tohru sat at the dining room table waiting for Kagome and Kyo to return. She was absolutely confident in the other girl's ability to bring back the stubborn cat. She had looked so confident when she said that she would be able to bring him back that it was hard not to believe her. But it was getting late and neither of them were back yet.

"Ne, Sohma-kun," she began, "Do you think Kagome-chan and Kyo-kun are alright?"

Yuki smiled softly at the girl before saying reassuringly, "Yes, I'm sure they're fine Tohru-chan. Kagome seems like a strong girl even if Kyo-baka is stubborn. They'll be back home shortly, don't worry."

Tohru smiled happily at Yuki's reassurances. "Okay!"

Internally though, Yuki was just as worried about their new friend as Tohru was. But he couldn't care less about what happened to Kyo. There were dangerous things in the forest and he wasn't sure if Kagome could actually defend herself.

Tohru stood up suddenly and began to clear off the table. When she had finished, she gathered the dirty dishes and began to wash them vigorously. Yuki stood when he heard a dish shatter and ran to the kitchen.

Tohru was standing, shaking, in front of the sink and her hand was bleeding sluggishly. "I-I'm sorry Sohma-kun," she stuttered. "I-I'll clean it u-up."

Yuki caught Tohru's arm and pulled her gently toward him. "That's unnecessary Tohru-chan. You're hurt. Please, let me take care of it for now."

Tohru's heart leaped to her throat despite her worry for her friends as Yuki lowered his head slowly toward her injured hand. Suddenly a warmth spread through Tohru as Yuki's warm tongue swept across her cut finger, cleansing it of the blood.

"T-t-t-thanks, Sohma-kun, but I t-t-t-think I'll be fine now," Tohru stuttered violently. She was sure her cheeks were a color that would rival the ripest cherry or tomato.

Yuki looked up at her through his long, dark lashes. "Are you sure, Tohru-chan. In that case, please call me Yuki. I would very much appreciate that."

"O-o-okay, Y-Yuki." If it was possible, Tohru's face colored even more. "It's just, I'm scared. Kagome-chan is really good and I don't want her to get hurt. I mean, if you guys hadn't found me, I would have been crushed in a mudslide. Something just as bad, or worse, might happen to Kagome-chan!"

Yuki looked sadly at the trembling girl before enveloping her in his arms. "Tohru-chan. I'm worried too, but I'm sure they'll be fine. Now let's get this mess cleaned up and we'll wait for Kagome-chan and that damn cat to walk safely through those doors."

Tohru nodded and Yuki bent down as if to gather the shards of the broken bowl, but instead of cleaning, he boldly placed his lips on Tohru's. Tohru squeaked into the kiss, but then melted. She knew she loved him and now it seemed as if he loved her too, but since he hadn't said anything, could things not be what they seem?

**K. It was interesting but unnecessary. Hope you enjoyed it anyway. Now I'm off to camp! Ja and please remember to Review Kindly! Arigatou Gozaimasu(?)**


	10. Actual Chapter 9

**Heyy! It is a new chapter and is probably my last for a week because I'm going to camp with no internet, computer or phone. I will be bringing my story with me in a printed version so I'm going to continue writing. Just thought you all ought to know! Please review kindly! I've gotten some wonderful constructive criticism and Hopefully my writing will get better as the story continues!**

Hatori walked calmly up to the door and switched his briefcase into his left hand before knocking with his right. A beaming Shigure opened the door and welcomed his cousin warmly.

"Haa-kun! It's so great to see you! I was beginning to think you were avoiding me!"

"I was." Hatori said coldly. Crocodile tears streamed down Shigure's face as Hatori continued. "You called and said Yuki was having an attack so I drove here as fast as I could. Now is he sick or not?"

Shigure suddenly ceased his crying and smiled widely, gesturing for Shigure to enter before quickly swooping around him and locking the door. Then he stood in front of the door like a linebacker preparing to get hit as he said, "Weeeell, it isn't exactly Yuki that's having the problem."

Fury burst off of Hatori in waves but his face remained impassive and his voice was still icy cold as he simply said, "Explain."

"It's a friend Yuki and Kyo and Tohru invited over for the night. She's very special because something happened today at school at Yuki didn't transform. But after dinner we were talking and Kyo got all frustrated and ran off and the beautiful, young girl ran after him and alas, she was injured rather grievously! Kyo had to carry her bleeding body all the way back to the house by himself! Poor Kyon-Kyon!"

Hatori was trying very hard to stop himself from hitting the idiot dog in front of him and he only managed to succeed because of his curiosity of the enigma that currently resided upstairs. "Very well," he said in a clipped tone. "I will see to this girl. Lead me to her room."

Shigure giggled happily and ran up the steep staircase. "C'mon Haa-kun! Kagome-chan is this way!"

Hatori sighed heavily and took long, sure strides until he was directly in front of the door that lead to the injured girl. Sighing again, he opened the light shoji door and slipped into the room. His eyes immediately fell on the clump of messy orange hair that belonged to a certain ill-tempered cat. Apparently Kyo had been very tired after his trek through the woods that he had managed to fall asleep leaning against the guest bed right near the girl's head.

"Kyo, get up!" Hatori spat. Kyo shot up and leaped to his feet with his hands thrown up in a defensive position until he saw who was standing in front of him.

"Oh, Hatori. It's just you."

"What happened to her?" Hatori asked without bothering to waste time with pleasantries.

"I'm not quite sure," Kyo replied grumpily. He really needed more sleep. "She was fighting with some _thing_ when I came across her. She was already bleeding pretty badly from her head by the time I showed up. Then I was stuck in a… thing until she destroyed whatever she was fighting against. I couldn't move until she fainted." Kyo explained oh so eloquently.

Hatori sighed _again_ at the 'helpful' information Kyo had given him before he pulled out a handkerchief and instructed Kyo to wet it with warm water. When Kyo returned, Hatori dabbed it on the dried blood on the young priestess' face. The blood came off easily and Hatori followed the trail to her hairline, but he had to part her hair to continue following the trail. Where the blood stopped, Hatori couldn't see any mark or scar. There was nothing! He pulled out a stethoscope and checked Kagome's breathing, then checked her pulse.

"She seems to be fine." He finally diagnosed. "She's just exhausted. She'll be fine when she wakes up in the morning. Kyo, you might want to go change your shirt and bathe. You have blood stains on your clothes and you smell like B.O."

Kyo growled softly, but his eyes held hidden relief that Kagome was alright and confusion as to _how_ she had gotten as healthy as she was so fast.

Hatori slowly trudged back down the stairs thoroughly confused. And that was an emotion he hated feeling. It made him feel weak and powerless when he couldn't understand something. "Let me know what happens," he said to Shigure who was sipping herbal tea as he left the house to head back to the main house.

Shigure smiled softly into his teacup. "I will Hatori," he said to no one in particular as said man had already left the house.

Kagome blinked open her eyes and all she saw was darkness and a faint, blurry orange light. She rubbed her sleep filled eyes and smiled at the oranges flames of a campfire. She glanced to her left and saw Miroku's cursed hand sleep-creeping toward Sango's backside but, in her sleep, Sango changed the side she was sleeping on and slapped Miroku in the face. He groaned then turned over in the other direction, so used to being slapped and hit that he didn't even notice it anymore.

When Kagome looked to her right she saw a familiar red haori and long silver hair. "InuYasha!" She exclaimed happily. He turned toward her and drew his tetsaiga as he did so. Iridescent purple eyes glared at her as her happy expression instantly changed to shock and horror. She shrieked and tried to leap to her feet but hands had grabbed hold of her legs and she couldn't move. She looked down and saw that Sango and Miroku had woken up and were holding her fast. They both had blank, dead looks in their eyes and blood trailed out of their mouths. Kagome screamed again and instinctively reached for her necklace. The first thing she grabbed hold of was the staff and she immediately enlarged it before swinging it at the oncoming 'InuYasha'.

"Oww!" A voice very unlike InuYasha's exclaimed. Kagome jerked upright and smacked her forehead into Kyo's chin.

"Ow!" she moaned as she fell back onto the pillow, shivering and holding back tears. It was still dark out and the only orange thing in the room was Kyo's hair. Then she realized she was holding a large silver staff and quickly reattached it to her necklace.

"All right, what was the big idea!" Kyo growled softly. His eyes widened when Kagome looked into his crimson eyes with her dull blue ones.

"Sorry. Bad dream. I didn't mean to wake you." Kagome untangled her legs from the sheets that were holding her hostage and stumbled out of the bed. Her shoes were still on and she was so disturbed by her dream that she hadn't even bothered to question why Kyo was in the same room as her. She still had all her clothes on so it wasn't important to her.

She stumbled over to the window with Kyo's curiously wary eyes following her every move. She clumsily unlatched the window and, with a speed Kyo didn't know she possessed, leaped out of the window and onto the roof. Kyo quickly followed after her and found her with her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped protectively around them just staring at the sky. Her eyes were still blank.

**No Cliffy :) Please REVIEW kindly now! Maybe I'll put up another chapter later tonight or in the morning if I get the chance. Reviews might change my mind though. Just an idea! Oh, and I hope my paragraphs arent overly long. I tried to fix it, but I'm still not quite sure when to cut them off and start a new one. I thought it was when you changed to a different topic or when someone else was talking, but please inform me if I'm wrong. I'll attempt to fix it.:D Thanks a lot!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Hiya! Sorry bout the longer than a week long wait! :) I had volleyball and had to recuperate from camp. Not to mention my computer was dead and I was too lazy to plug it in! But, you all don't care, so thanks for reading all the way through to chapter 10! I hope this meets up with your expectations and maybe exceeds them! Please remember to REVIEW at the end. Politely. Thanks! So many people reviewed throughout the week and I really appreciate it. I'm glad everyone seems to be enjoying this story!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Furuba or InuYasha. Sorry to disappoint, but you probably don't want me to own them anyway.**

Kyo strolled up on the roof and sat close to Kagome but far enough away so that they both had plenty of space. Then he did something completely out of character. "Do you want to talk to me about it?"

Kagome shook her head and continued to stare distantly at the stars as if she was looking beyond them at some distant memory. The two sat on the roof for what felt like days but was really only two hours in complete silence until the sun rose and Kagome began to speak. "It was about my past." Kyo was confused for a moment but a second later he realized she was going to explain her dream to him. "I had some really good friends that were practically my family and I travelled with them all over the place. There was this one guy, InuYasha, that I loved up until I had to leave." Kyo subconsciously curled his fingers into fists and relaxed them as Kagome continued.

"I realized he could never love me the way he loved my sister Kikyou, so I let him go. But I never wanted to leave him or my other friends. We had a dangerous life due to a very special object that I broke and repairing it was… troublesome. That thing we fought earlier was a Shadow Demon who had taken the shape of InuYasha. He wanted the object I broke and I had to fight it. It," Kagome's shoulders shook as she tried to suppress the tears that pooled in her eyes. "It wasn't easy fighting someone who looked like family." The tears finally spilled over Kagome's eyes and down her cheeks. Her breathing grew rapid and uneven and soft whimpers escaped her.

Kyo stiffened. He didn't know what to do with the crying girl so he did the best he could. "Hey, stop crying Higurashi. It was just a dream and the _demon_ you fought earlier wasn't InuTrasha."

"His name was InuYasha!" Kagome snapped instinctively. When she realized what had happened she started to laugh softly. "Thanks Kyo-kun. I appreciate you coming up and listening. We should probably head downstairs though. I think I smell Tohru's cooking!" With that, Kagome stood up and walked to the edge of the roof. Kyo watched her curiously which quickly turned into horror as she calmly stepped off the solid roof and into thin air.

"Kagome!" He exclaimed worriedly as he instantly dove off the roof as well. He expected to find Kagome's body broken and bleeding on the ground below but she was already walking leisurely to the front door.

"Mmm, Tohru, this smells delicious!" Kagome cried as she opened the unlocked door and strolled into the kitchen. "Can I help you with anything?"

"Kagome-chan!" Tohru exclaimed. "No, no thank you. It's fine, I have everything under control. Please just go sit in the dining room. Breakfast will be finished in just a minute. And I don't think you should be moving around with the injuries you have! Wait! Where did you come from? I thought you were up in the guest room."

"I was. Kyo-kun and I had a nice chat on the roof, didn't we Kyo-kun?"Kagome called teasingly to the kitchen.

"Hn," Kyo grumbled.

Kagome and Tohru giggled and Kagome followed Tohru's instructions to go sit down. She carefully seated herself close to Kyo, her arm just brushing his. His muscles tightened but he didn't move. Kagome's presence was very comforting even if he didn't want to admit it. For Kagome, Kyo had a very familiar and warm aura. Nobody noticed that when her fingers brushed his bracelet it burned bright pink for a split second.

"Breakfast is ready!" Tohru called happily as she set plates down in front of the two.

"Tohru!" Kyo whined suddenly. "I hate leeks! Why would you put them in my breakfast!"

Tohru's eyes widened in hurt as she gazed balefully at Kyo. Seeing Tohru's hurt expression, Kagome snapped and instinctivelysaid something she hadn't in several weeks. "Kyo, SIT!"

When the word escaped her mouth she recoiled and expected nothing to happen, especially since Kyo was already sitting, but Kyo's bracelet glowed pink and lifted his arm to where he was standing before smashing him to the ground. He lifted his head looking completely dazed and befuddled only to see Kagome huddled in the corner looking at him with wide, scared, watery eyes. Tohru's hands had clamped themselves to her mouth and her eyes were wide with disbelief.

At that moment Shigure and Yuki stumbled into the dining room with bleary, sleep-filled eyes. Tohru snapped out of her daze and went to pour coffee for the two.

Yuki rubbed his eyes when he saw Kyo lying on his stomach with cracks in the wood beneath him and Kagome crouching in a corner looking scared. He decided that since Kyo was getting up he was okay, but Kagome looked like she was about to have a panic attack or go into shock.

"Kagome," Yuki intoned softly. "Are you okay? What happened?"

Kagome just shook her head and continued to stare at Kyo.

"Stupid cat," Yuki turned, glaring at him. "What did you do to Miss Higurashi?"

"It wasn't me damn rat. And don't call me stupid dammit!" Kyo shouted furiously. "She yelled something and I hit the floor, like magic!"

"Yeah right," Yuki sighed. "Don't make Miss Higurashi take the blame for your stupidity."

"No," Kagome whispered. "It _was_ me. I don't understand. I didn't think…" Kagome trailed off and Shigure looked worriedly at her. It wasn't normal for young, pretty girls to have such terrified and sad expressions on their faces.

"Tohru!" he trilled. "Can we get Miss Kagome-chan here some tea?" Tohru called an affirmative from the kitchen and put the teapot on the stove. Shigure sat down at the head of the table and patted the cushion beside him deciding to get serious. "Now Miss Kagome, come sit here please. We actually do need to talk."

Kagome nodded blankly and shakily walked over to Shigure. Yuki walked close behind her as if ready to catch her should she fall, which didn't go unnoticed by Kyo or Shigure.

"Kagome, you said last night that you could see our auras. How is this possible?"

Kagome blinked and sadness clouded her eyes. "I am a priestess. I think it's only fair if I start from the beginning though so you understand. In this time most priestesses have little to no power but I am the reincarnation of a very powerful priestess from the feudal era. On my fifteenth birthday magic in the dry well on my family's shrine pulled me into the feudal era. It sounds unbelievable, but it's true. I met a lot of very special people there and they became my family. I assume you have heard of the legend of the Shikon no Tama?"

Everybody nodded, even Kyo. He had kind of been paying attention because Kagome had told him a lot of this earlier. However he had figured before that she had edited it and now he was happy that he was getting the full story of the mysterious Higurashi. It also made him feel special that she had decided to trust him with the majority of her tale. At least, the important parts.

"Well, it's real and I broke it. I travelled all over the place in the feudal era looking for pieces of it with a half demon named InuYasha, a demon slayer named Sango, a young fox demon named Shippou and a… monk… I guess named Miroku. He was cursed too with an endless black hole in his hand that he had to cover with cloth and prayer beads. Had we not found and defeated the evil half demon Naraku, his wind tunnel would have swallowed him and killed him.

"My incarnation was a priestess named Kikyou. She died when she was very young, but when I was pulled back to the past a witch took my soul and gave it to Kikyou, bringing her back to life. I managed to get most of it back and when I was yanked back to the future she gave me back the rest of my soul and with that my power.

"Eventually we did find and put together the whole jewel, but the result was that I was forced back to this time and haven't been able to go back. While I was in the feudal era though, I learned how to control my powers and used them to my advantage. They are also the reason I can see auras and why I healed so quickly."

To put it simply, everyone was shocked and disbelieving, but one look at Kagome's completely serious face put their doubts to rest. She was after all a very trustworthy person.

"That still doesn't explain how you're able to hug us though without us transforming." Yuki put out thoughtfully.

"It could be the power of the jewel." Shigure mused. "Kagome-chan, you _are_ a girl aren't you?"

Kagome looked slightly affronted, but she couldn't muster the energy to get mad. However, Kyo and Yuki punched him on the head with furious faces as he stared pointedly as Kagome's chest.

"And how were you hurt Miss Higurashi?" Yuki asked softly, calming his ire and trying to change the subject. Then he glanced at Kyo and said lightly, "Kyo wasn't exactly able to explain it coherently last night."

"Yeah," Shigure piped up. "He was much too worried about his little Kagome-chan!" It seemed he had forgotten what he had just said and done and plowed straight on.

Yuki flushed jealously and punched Shigure on the head again while Kyo reddened slightly but didn't deny it. Kagome smiled softly at Kyo and he blushed a little harder.

"Hn, I just didn't want her to die when I could've done something to help."

"As sweet as that is Kyo-kun," Kagome smirked sarcastically, "You wouldn't have been able to get out of the barrier I put over you. It was intended to keep you safe from the demon that attacked us. Plus, I took care of it even if I did pass out. He looked just like InuYasha," she added softly as she held the warm mug of tea Tohru had given her several minutes earlier. "It was harder to fight him than I would have ever imagined." She swallowed thickly and took a sip of tea to calm herself.

"So, that's what happened." Shigure murmured. "You know, we're going to have to report this to Akito don't you?" He told Yuki and Kyo.

"We can't!" Kyo and Yuki protested at the same time.

"We have to." Shigure repeated firmly. He stood and said solemnly, "I'm going to call Hatori. He can drive her over. Kagome, we need you to go see the head of our family."

**Ooookay... Well it seemed Kagome didnt really need any persuasion to tell the family her little excursion to the past -_- oh well. Hope you liked it! now Please kindly REVIEW! :) I'll put up the next chapter in a few days I guess. Maybe. Depending on how I'm feeling and if I think people actually want to read... It's really all up to you... Yes. I am talking to you person who is reading this right now...**


	12. Chapter 11

Kagome grabbed her uniform coat and slipped on her shoes before following the man who introduced himself as Hatori Sohma to the waiting car. He was tall and handsome with part of his hair covering his left eye. He had bowed to Kagome politely when they had first met and held open the car door for her. Kagome blushed slightly. After all, a tall, beautiful man treating her like a real woman was very flattering!

"Excuse me, Sohma-san," Kagome started quietly. "If I may ask, what animal are you? You feel like a… well I can't really put my finger on it. The others were pretty easy." Kagome didn't mention that Kyo's aura confused her quite a lot.

"I'd rather not say," Hatori replied coldly. "But, I would like to warn you, Akito-sama is not usually very tolerant of outsiders. I'm not sure why he lets Honda-san know the secret of our curse, but I can almost guarantee that he will not let you continue to know about it. Your memories might have to be erased."

Kagome was slightly taken aback at the tone of Hatori's voice. It sounded harsh, but there was an undertone to it that made her wonder. What was it about this Akito that made everyone so wary? Kagome didn't reply but nodded. There was no way her memories were going to be erased. Wait. How could her memories be erased? No human could have the power to do that! Could they? She voiced her opinion out loud.

"It is a gift that my father passed on to me." Hatori said simply. "I will be the one to erase your memories if Akito-sama wishes it."

"Very well Sohma-san. But I hope that it won't come to that." The rest of the short drive was absolutely silent as was the walk through the large main house to Akito's room. Kagome didn't bother to tell Hatori that there was no way she was letting him take her memories. She would fight tooth and nail to prevent that, and she would win, but she desperately hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Hatori knocked on the door politely before calling, "Akito-sama, you have a visitor." There was an assenting grunt from inside the door followed by a hacking cough. Hatori slid the shoji door open and waved Kagome in.

"I will wait out here for you Higurashi-san," Hatori stated emotionlessly.

Kagome nodded and entered. The door slid shut behind her with a definitive snap. "Akito-sama," Kagome bowed and kneeled in the middle of the floor. This was an old family and Kagome decided it would be prudent to use the manners she had been taught back in the feudal era.

"Girl," Akito wheezed. "What could you possibly want with my family?"

"Your family is kind to me. They are my friends and I don't want to hurt them. If possible, I would like to help them remove their curse. I can see it affects you as well milady."

Akito stood up at a speed Kagome had thought impossible for someone who had been coughing so hard before. "How do you know!" she raged. "I have told no one except Hatori! Did that good for nothing son of a…"

"Hatori-san told me nothing milady!" Kagome interrupted quickly. She didn't want Hatori to suffer from a misunderstanding. "I am a priestess and I can read auras. You are very feminine milady."

"Stop it! Stop lying!" Akito cried out as she leaped for Kagome. Kagome quickly dodged the crazy head of the family but Akito kept going for her. Finally, after leaping all over the room, Kagome decided she had had enough. She grabbed Akito's wrist at her next attack and twisted it so Akito was kneeling in front of her. Tears of madness were streaming down the woman's face as she continued whisper-screaming obscenities at the priestess.

"Milady, please calm down," Kagome demanded, not losing her politeness for a moment. "I am not lying about anything and if you calm down I would be happy to explain myself to you."

Akito suddenly stopped her wailing and went limp in Kagome's hold. "Thank you milady.

"I can tell that the curse is affecting you as well. You are sick and dying at too young of an age. If I can release this curse from your family you will be free too. I would be delighted to try my best and help you."

"No," Akito whispered. "If I lose the curse, I lose my family. Nobody will want to be around me. They put up with me because they know I am sick and dying. They pity me and I would rather have them around me for that reason than not at all."

Kagome felt sorry for the head, but she was also exasperated with her. "They don't pity you, they fear you." She stated bluntly. "And I don't know how long it will take to break the curse. If you start to be nice to your family starting now, maybe they will find it in their hearts to forgive you. Then they won't want to leave you. Plus, would you rather die with everyone fearing you, or live to try and get back in their good graces?"

Akito glared weakly at the girl sitting quietly in front of her. "You think you're so high and mighty, don't you? You know they won't forgive me and you just want to take them away from me!"

"That's not true milady." Kagome sighed. "I just want to help my friends."

"Fine! Try to rid my family of the curse! Why would I care what happens to you or them if you fail! There's no way to get rid of it! And if you succeed and I don't die from it, I'll just kill myself anyway!"

"Akito-sama, please, if you start to be kind to your family, they _will_ want to be close to you. Right now you're just driving them away. Just think about it, and thank you for accepting my offer of help. I hope everything goes well with you."

"Hn," Akito grunted and waved Kagome away. Once her back was turned, Kagome grinned broadly. She had done it! She would be able to help her friends and their family like she had been thinking ever since she had heard that they were cursed. And she wasn't going to have her memory erased! That would have been a messy situation had it actually occured.

She pulled open the door and grinned brightly at Hatori. "It's okay!" Hatori glanced at the girl in surprise as she wrapped her arms around him laughing softly.

"K-Kagome-san," Hatori stuttered. "What happened?" He was referring to the fact that he hadn't transformed and what had transpired in Akito's bedroom. There had been shouts and crashes and Kagome had come out unscathed and laughing? What the heck?

"I can help!" Kagome giggled. She was so happy that all thoughts of her past flew out the window at her desire to help her new friends.

"How can you hug me?"

"I'm a priestess. Your curse doesn't affect me! Can you take me back to Shigure-san's now please? I would like to tell them the good news."

Hatori was about to answer when two people appeared in the hallway they had been walking down while Kagome had been talking to Hatori.

"Kagome-chan?"

"'Gome-chan!" It was Haru and Momiji.

"Haru-kun! Momiji-kun!" Kagome exclaimed as she ran toward them. She was happy. Now she knew why they hadn't hugged her before and that they could now. If they wanted to.

"Why are you here Kagome-chan?" Hatsuharu asked with a concerned gleam in his eye.

"I just saw Akito-sama." She replied, still smiling although not as crazed as before.

"What!" Haru cried, grabbing her shoulders as he remembered Rin. "What happened! Are you okay? He didn't hurt you did he?" His aura darkened as Black Haru took over.

"No Haru-kun, I'm just fine." Kagome hugged him too, and like the others, Haru stiffened as he expected to transform. In his surprise, White Haru was able to regain control. Momiji watched with wide eyes as nothing happened.

"How?" Haru asked simply.

"She's a priestess," Hatori replied as he walked slowly up to them.

"I want a hug too then!" Momiji exclaimed as he leaped into Kagome's arm. Kagome laughed and spun around, holding Momiji close. It reminded her of holding Shippou and she held him even tighter.

Momiji clung to her and his shoulders began to shake. "Momiji, what's wrong?" Kagome asked as she kneeled on the ground and pulled away, afraid she had hurt him in some way. Momiji just latched himself back on Kagome, his arms wrapped around her neck as he continued to sob.

"Nothing, 'Gome-chan. I just didn't know what a hug felt like. It's nice." Kagome felt her heart clench at the young looking boy's sobs.

"Momiji, if you ever want a hug, I will be happy to hug you."

Hatori and Hatsuharu watched the touching scene with soft eyes until Hatori cleared his throat. "We need to get going. You might not have to go to school today, but that doesn't mean that I don't have work to do."

Kagome looked up into Hatori's soft black eye and smiled. He seemed much more relaxed now that he knew Kagome had been accepted into the family by Akito. "Okay, time to go share the good news!"

"We're coming too!" Momiji and Haru spoke at the same time but with different inflections in their voices. Kagome grinned at them and looped one arm around the taller Haru's waist and her other arm around the shorter Momiji's shoulders as they followed a softly smiling Hatori to the car.

'This girl will be good for the family,' Hatori thought. He didn't know just how good she would actually be!


	13. Chapter 12

Hatori pulled up the driveway and before he had even parked the car, Kagome had unbuckled her seatbelt, crawled across Hatsuharu's lap and tumbled gracefully out of the car. She then proceeded to run incredibly fast up the rest of the drive and crash through the front door. Hatori faintly heard Shigure cry, "My door!" before Haru pulled the car door closed again so Hatori could finish pulling the car into the driveway.

"Kyo-kun! Yuki-kun! Tohru-chan!" Kagome yelled as she raced through the house. The first person she found wasn't any of the people she had been calling for. "Shigure-san!" she cried as she accidently opened the door to his office. "I'm cleared!" she yelled happily until her eyes narrowed on him. "You didn't tell me anything about what was going to happen Shigure-san," she accused.

Shigure rubbed his neck sheepishly as he mumbled, "Well, sorry about that. But you're okay, so it all worked out!" Kagome glanced at the computer screen and caught sight of the last line Shigure had typed for his newest 'romance' novel:

**She breathed heavily on her orange-haired lover's bare chest, her own black tresses tickling her sides as they moved together as one, sweat glistening on both their bodies.**

Fury built in her at his perverseness. "Shigure-san, what are you writing?" She asked sweetly.

He beamed at her, "Just a romance novel, dear Kagome-chan." She smashed a fist into his head screaming, "Hentai!" over her shoulder as she ran through the house looking for Yuki, Tohru or Kyo. Shigure rubbed the bump on his head, moaning slightly. She hit just as hard as Yuki and Kyo.

Kagome ran through the whole house and found nobody until she tried the roof and spotted a shock of orange hair. "Kyo-kun!" she called. He sat up at the sound of his name and rubbed his eyes. He had been having a wonderful nap as he tried to escape from the worry of Kagome seeing Akito. Kagome flew at him and pulled him into a huge hug. She buried her head in his chest and started to cry, but they were happy tears. She didn't know why, but being with Kyo felt so different that any of the other Sohmas. Sure, Haru was very kind and a great person, Momiji was absolutely adorable and kind and Yuki was very polite, but Kyo was different. He was warmer? No, that wasn't right. Kagome couldn't put her finger on it, but her heart felt lighter when she was around him. He seemed content to listen to her babbling and put in his own two cents when he deemed it necessary. And sure, he teased her, but he didn't usually go over the line. He was Kyo, potentially the best friend she had made in the shortest amount of time, and Kagome loved it.

Kyo blinked. Was he still dreaming? Suddenly he felt a warm wetness through his cotton shirt and panicked. "Kagome! What's wrong? Are you okay?"

Kagome looked up at him and laughed. "Why does everybody keep asking that? I'm perfectly fine! I have something important to tell everyone though. Do you know where Yuki and Tohru are?"

Kyo's eyes darkened at the mention of the rat. "They're out. I don't know when they will be back."

"Okay!" Kagome said brightly. "Then I'll sit here and wait for them with you!"

"Hn, I'm not waiting for them." He growled, then mumbled, "I was waiting for you." Kagome blushed happily and plopped down close to him.

"I get to keep my memories," she stated unnecessarily. Kyo smiled and listened as she started talking about how nice everyone in his family was and how she wanted to help Akito, making appropriate noises at appropriate times.

"Hey Kyo, does that cloud look like a cat to you?" She asked. He looked over at her to see that she wasn't looking at the clouds, she was looking directly at him.

"No," he disagreed. "It's something much more beautiful than a cat." He smirked at her blush, but his smirk quickly faded when she looked at his wrist.

"Why do you have these beads on? They're not a normal bracelet. They hold power, and not just mine."

He sat up and she followed. "It's nothing," Kyo mumbled as he grabbed his wrist.

"Kyo, don't lie to me, please." Kagome begged. "I can feel you're different from the others. What is it that makes you so different?"

Kyo sighed and made the mistake of looking directly into Kagome's large blue eyes. Suddenly he found himself spilling the whole story of him having the true demonic spirit of the cat hidden in him as well as the normal cat spirit. He refused to look at Kagome as he finished his tale so he didn't see her reach over and grab the hand that the containment bracelet rested above.

Kagome's mind was in overdrive as she listened to Kyo's story. It was rather tragic that he was rejected from his family for housing something he had no control over, but sadly, history was filled with variations of that same fate. She reached over and grabbed his left hand. She gently touched the bracelet and felt that it could still hold more power. There was extra room even with the power holding back the cat's true form and the subjugation spell Kagome had accidently put in it. Subconsciously Kagome filed that information away. It could be important.

"Kyo," she found herself saying, "I don't care if you house the spirit of the cat. I see you for you."

Kyo looked up into her honest eyes, his own wide with shock and hope. Could she really be accepting him? Or was it a deception to get him to lower his guard so she could hit him where it hurt? Kyo immediately felt shame at the thought. Kagome wasn't like that.

When he refocused, he found that his nose was inches from Kagome's and that he could feel her breath on his cheeks. It was warm and sweet. Her eyes were half lidded as she tilted her head up. He bent over even further and his ruby gaze clashed with her sapphire one. Suddenly he found his lips on hers. The kiss was sweet and soft, but he didn't want to break it. Kagome managed to convey her love and acceptance for him in it. Kyo was lost for words. Nobody had ever given him this kind of love. It was always hatred or a challenge. Shigure teased him and his master had cared for him, but the kind of emotion Kagome was showing him was something he had never received before in his life. It scared him and enthralled him at the same time.

Kagome pulled back and looked up at him with soft, relaxed eyes. She was confused as to why she had let him kiss her, but it felt right. She thought that there was no way her heart could handle anymore love or heartbreak, but she was happy around him and more herself around him than any other person. Kyo just stared at her with an unreadable expression and Kagome suddenly became scared. Had she done something wrong? The silence became unbearable and she stood up gracefully.

"I'm sorry Kyo-kun. I…" She began to back away to the edge of the roof, but Kyo quickly rose as well. He reached out and pulled her into a hug.

"Kagome," He murmured. "Thank you." Kagome just melted into his embrace. He was warm and strong and seemed to care for her just as much as she cared for him.

Kyo looked over Kagome's shoulder and stiffened. "Damn rat," he hissed. Kagome stepped out of his hug and looked down. Tohru and Yuki were walking slowly back to the house holding armfuls of carrots and leeks.

Kagome smiled at Kyo and he lost his breath for a moment. It was then that he decided that Kagome was his and he would protect her however he could. "Let's go say hi!" she exclaimed as she raced to the edge of the roof and took a flying leap off of it, landing softly on her feet. Kyo sighed as he stepped off and landed cat-like as well, walking slowly off after the sprinting priestess. She had captured his heart and could control him like a puppet, but she was too innocent to know it or take advantage of it.

**I did edit just a few things in this chapter, but not too much! I did feel that Kagome and Kyo were getting too close so I changed it slightly so that they didnt get that close that fast. Anyway, there will be more changes next chapter and I'll put that up ASAP. Please review kindly and make a busy author very happy! :)**


	14. Chapter 13

**Hey! I got 84 REVIEWS! YAY! YAY! YAYA! Thank you SO MUCH! *ahem* sorry :) Pl****ease Review kindly at the end! NO FLAMES! But I love questions and constuctive criticsm! Thanks and there is one person I would love to answer to at the end! And I'm being serious. I'm too lazy to message them so I will happily answer them at the end!**

"Yuki-kun!" Kagome exclaimed as she skidded to a stop in front of him and Tohru. "Tohru-chan! I have great news! I get to keep my memories. I also have a little surprise that I want to tell you and everyone else about, but I want to tell everyone at once!" She gave Yuki a brief hug and then squeezed Tohru. Yuki looked slightly dazed at the contact, but shook himself out of it at the questioning look in Tohru's naïve blue eyes.

"Okay then Miss Kagome, we will follow you into the house." Yuki said with a soft smile.

Kyo had finally reached the group and greeted Yuki with the usual, "Damn rat," when Kagome wrapped her fingers around his wrist and pulled him after her quickly into the house.

"What the…?" Yuki began as he watched Kyo allow himself to be pulled along by the smaller girl.

Tohru giggled softly. "Looks like something happened between Kagome and Kyo!"

Yuki just blinked and started walking after the dust trail left behind by the other two, a small smile on his face. Kagome was nice and pretty, but when he looked at the petite girl beside him he knew that there was no way he was going to pass her along to someone else. Kyo could have Kagome, but if he hurt her, there would be a hefty price to pay.

'Thanks Kagome-chan,' Tohru thought. 'For not going after Yuki-kun.' She then walked after Yuki with a foolish grin plastered across her face.

"Attention!" Kagome yelled as she entered the kitchen. Shigure, Hatori and Hatsuharu looked up at her while Momiji leaped to his feet and ran into Kagome's arms.

"'Gome-chan! I wondered where you went to!"

"Sorry about that Momiji-kun," Kagome laughed. "I just wanted to talk with Kyo-kun and tell him the good news!"

Kyo growled softly and pulled Momiji out of Kagome's embrace. "What are you doing squirt?" He punched Momiji gently enough not to give him a concussion, but hard enough to leave a bump.

"WAAAH! 'Gome-chan, Kyo hit me!"

"Kyo! Put him down!" Kagome cried exasperatedly.

"He started it!" Kyo whined childishly.

"Kyo," Kagome warned. Internally she wanted to smile, but she kept her angry face on. Unfortunately, Kyo wasn't very experienced with the 'sit' tone Kagome used to use with InuYasha, so he had no idea what was coming. Instead, he just stared furiously at the bawling little blond boy that had made him make Kagome upset. Seeing that her warning was useless, Kagome finally cried, "SIT!"

Kyo cried out and let go of Momiji as he was pulled forcefully to the floor by his wrist. "Owww," he moaned as he rubbed his head where it had collided with the floor. "Kagome, what was that for?"

He looked into her eyes to see that she was smiling and also looking reproachful at the same time. She shook her head and raised her voice so the room and Yuki and Tohru, who had just walked in, could hear her. "I have something very important that I need to discuss with you all, so if we could sit," Kyo, who had just stood back up, crashed back to the floor. "Oh! Kyo, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "I haven't made that mistake in a long time!"

Kyo looked questioningly up at her but she just shot him an 'I'll-tell-you-later' look. "If we could gather 'round the table," she amended, "I'd be happy to tell you." Kyo crawled to the short, wooden table and collapsed near it, still trying to shake away the imaginary cats that were running circles around his head. Kagome gently lifted his head and sat down, placing it in her lap. Everyone else gathered around the other three sides and waited for her to start talking.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush here," she started. Kyo closed his eyes as Kagome subconsciously began to brush his hair away from his forehead with her fingers. It felt so good and listening to her voice was lulling him to sleep. "I think I can find a way to lift your curse." She stated bluntly. All eyes around the table grew wide and Kyo sat up suddenly.

Shigure was the first to speak. "What do you mean 'lift our curse'?" he asked hesitantly. It was too much to hope for.

"I mean get rid of it completely. I will have to go back home and look through a bunch of my grandfather's scrolls, but I think I could do it. I have the power, of that I'm sure. I just have to find the right method. I also don't know how long that will take but I'm absolutely willing to try if you will let me."

"What about Akito-sama?" Yuki asked.

"Akito-sama has already granted me permission to attempt it even though he believes I will fail." Kagome replied bitterly. She didn't much like Akito, and she was sure the other woman reciprocated the feeling, but she still felt she should keep Akito's secret until Akito decided to divulge it to her family.

"'Gome-chan," Momiji spoke up. "You can really do it?"

"I will do it Momiji-kun, no matter what it takes," Kagome said softly. "I need to get home now so I can call my mother and plan my next trip home, but I will look up every method I can." She glanced meaningfully at Kyo before standing and saying, "Thanks for letting me stay the night Shigure-san. Tohru, you and I will have to go out one of these days! See you later Momiji-kun, Yuki-kun, Haru-nii!"

Haru looked up, caught completely off guard by the honorific Kagome had put at the end of his name. "Later imoutou." He smiled and Kagome walked out of the room.

"I'll walk her home," Kyo grumbled as he stood up and followed Kagome.

Kagome grabbed her shoes and pulled them on. Then she walked out the door with Kyo silently following her like a shadow.

"Okay, what's up?" Kyo asked five minutes later as they were walking down a dimly lit alley. Kagome held up a hand and stopped moving.

She turned around and saw a huge, hulking, shadowed form crouching at the mouth of the alley. She heard Kyo gasp and whipped around to see another of the hulking forms at the other end. Kagome groaned to herself. She _knew_ better than to walk down a dark alley at night. How stupid was she! She could sense that these demons were not weak and that they would definitely be hard to defeat on her own.

**silver-sunshine-girl: Heyy! Thanks you so much for reviewing first of all and for your comment second of all. This was your review in case you forgot or anyone else wants to know what I'm talking about:**

_**i like the story but i feel like they fell for each other waaayyy to fast, especially kyo who is quite the untrusting fellow, maybe just reel it back? i do like it though and cant wait for the next update**_

**First off, I'm glad you like this story :) And I agree. Kagome and Kyo did fall for each other very quickly, but I had Kagome at her house for one month and at school with the Sohma's for another month. Since she was better friends with Uo and Hana she hung out with Tohru and Yuki and Kyo less than if she had met them and become friends with them immediately. However, she did hang out with the group and got to be great friends with them. Also, Kagome is a hormonal teenage girl despite how much she feels that she doesnt want another relationship even though she never really had one with Inuyasha. She obviously thinks Yuki and Kyo and all of the Sohmas are cute, but she is more interested in Kyo due to his abnormal aura. **

**Next, Kagome was the one to go after Kyo when he ran off and she got hurt because of him so Kyo feels responsible for her and wants to protect her however he can.**

**Lastly, in most Anime the guy and girl fall for each other almost overnight. At least I gave them a month to realize they had budding feelings for each other before they completely bloomed and took the risk of kissing. As much as they like each other though, they're still not entirely sure of the others feelings quite yet :p**

**Thanks so much once again and I hope that SUPER LONG explaination cleared things up for you and other people who might have had the same question :)**

**Now PLease review nicely! 3 3 **

**Also, tell me if I should put InuYasha and the gang in this story. Shippou is already going to be in there so you're out of luck on that front, but the rest of them I'm not sure about. So let me know what you all want! k thx!**

**AN2: I did switch a little bit of the wording around so hopefully it wont seem like they are still falling for each other too fast. Next chapter I'm hoping to seperate the two even more since Shippou will be making an entrance and then some of the Inu Gang will too. Theres no way Kyo is confident enough in himself to not feel inferior next to good looking demons. :p I'm so mean. Any way, please review kindly and make a very busy author very happy. I blame school... :(**


	15. Chapter 14

**93 reviews! O my googlie wooglies! idk what those are btw :) But thats a huge honor! I'm so sorry I havent updated in a while but school started and so did volleyball and I need sleep and the weekends are made for homework and so much other stuff has been going on! But enough of my excuses, please read this chapter and kindly tell me what you think at the end! IT's not my favorite chapter but it has to be done. I'll try my best to get the next chapter up by the weekend but I make no promises. especially since Rock The Universe is next weekend and Im going with a friend! YES! Anywayzz, read on!**

Kagome growled softly to herself and Kyo looked over at her in surprise. How had someone as small as she made such an impressive noise? He hated to admit it, but he really was falling hard for the little priestess and it seemed as if every little thing she did set his nerves on end. In a good way, of course!

"Can't you ever leave me alone?" She growled at the two demons. "I don't want to kill you, but if you insist…" Kagome trailed off before smiling insanely. Who was she kidding? She loved fighting demons! It was a great stress reliever and allowed her to expand and test the limits of her power. The two demons just advanced slowly and spoke at the same time in harsh voices that sounded like tires squealing.

"Give us the jewel wench!"

"Is that all you demons can say? 'Give me the jewel'?" Kagome scoffed. "Well, I don't think so. I'll just have to destroy you right here. Come on, give me a reason. I beg you."

The two demons launched themselves at her and Kyo, and for all her big talk, Kagome wasn't sure if she could defend both her and the other boy. She immediately threw up a barrier around herself and Kyo and turned to him.

"Kyo, you need to get out of here! I can draw their attention then you need to run! Got that?"

"No way!" Kyo argued predictably. "I'm not leaving you here by yourself to fight these things! I want to help!"

"Really," Kagome pretended to think then asked scathingly, "Do you have spiritual powers that you never told me about?" Kyo looked mutinously at his shoes.

"That's what I thought. Now, on three, run." Kagome demanded. "One… Two… Three!" Kagome dropped the barrier and shot a huge stream of her reiki into the demon at the far end of the alley that led back to the Sohma estate before shoving Kyo in that direction. The demon instantly turned to dust, but that single attack had drained Kagome completely.

She weakly raised her hand to her necklace and pulled off the silver staff that Miroku had given her. He had trained her with his staff and at her dojo they had a weapons class where she learned how to fight with a Bo Staff, which was similar to hers, and wooden swords. She had yet to use the Tetsusaiga, but she wanted to know the basics of sword fighting anyway should it prove to come in handy one day.

She leaned on the staff as she tried to catch her breath and when the dust from the exploded demon cleared, Kagome saw that Kyo hadn't moved and inch. "You idiot!" She wheezed weakly. "Do you know what I just did to try and get you out of here? Do you even care?"

Kyo looked guilty but stared determinedly into her eyes. "I'm not leaving you," he declared.

Kagome smiled at him. He really was sweet, but he was stupid! "Fine, now we are both going to die. I hope you had a fulfilling life, Kyo-kun." Kagome sighed sarcastically. No way was she going down without a fight! There was only one demon now, but the problem with that was that he was pissed at his brother's death and Kagome was weak. Oh, and Kyo couldn't fight demons. That was an issue too.

Kagome took a deep breath and stepped in front of Kyo holding the staff threateningly at the slowly advancing demon. The wind blew and Kagome flinched back at the new power that seemed to flow from the demon.

"Hahahaha!" The demon chuckled evilly. "Thanks for that. My brother never really knew how to use his power, and now that he's dead, all of that wasted potential goes directly to me! So you see, you're less than weak Priestess and I'm twice as strong. And your little boyfriend here is useless! This will end quickly!"

Kagome straightened her back and glared defiantly into the glowing red eyes of the Bull Demon. "No. It won't," she amended. But it was all talk. As soon as she tried to take a step forward her knees trembled and buckled. Kyo caught her and tried to take the staff from her so he could fight instead but it glowed pink and shocked him. He let it go with a surprised hiss. The two gazed helplessly at the oncoming demon and prayed for help or a quick and painless end.

The demon advanced swiftly, ripping his horn off to use it as a stake, but he never got to the two humans huddled against the alley wall. A clawed hand was protruding from his chest and clutching his heart. The hand squeezed violently and the Bull Demon collapsed as blood squirted out of his now useless heart. He was dead.

Kagome looked up at the presence of someone new. The light from the streetlamp threw the stranger's features into shadow, but it outlined his physique beautifully. The figure had short hair cut just long enough so that he could pull it into a short ponytail if he wanted, but it was still short enough so that even if it wasn't in a ponytail it would just look shaggy. He was tall, about 6'2'', and very muscular, but not overly so. All in all, he was very attractive and even Kagome, who had Kyo, was blushing lightly when he extended his hand to help her stand.

"Can I help you Miss?" He asked in a suave tone. He couldn't have been much older that Kyo or herself!

Kagome shook her head politely and clutched her staff as she used her own willpower to get to her feet. Kyo quickly rose and placed a possessive hand on her shoulder. As happy as Kagome was to be out of immediate danger, the stranger made her keep her guard up. Not many humans could shove their hand through the heart of a demon and kill it. In fact, no human could, so it was very obvious that this person was not human.

"Thank you very much for your help," Kagome said cautiously as the group of three began to walk into the light.

"It was my pleasure, Momma."

Kagome's head whipped up so fast she could have sworn she gave herself whiplash. She hadn't heard that voice in so long. Immediately tears welled in her eyes and she looked hopefully into the greenest pair of eyes she had ever seen. "S-Shippou-chan?" She whispered. He looked over at her and a soft, lopsided grin grew on his gorgeous face. One fang poked out over his bottom lip.

"Shippou-chan!" Kagome shrieked as she found hidden strength in her and leaped at the now grown fox demon. He opened his arms and caught his mother as she fell into his hold crying profusely. "Shippou-chan, I've missed you so much!" She wailed. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to leave! And I never even said good bye! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" She repeated.

"Kaa-chan, it's okay. I've missed you too, but I'm here now. So," his smirk grew teasing. "Who's your boyfriend? InuYasha sure as hell won't be pleased."

Kagome looked up at Shippou in shock. "InuYasha's still alive? And where did you get such a bad mouth Shippou? I'm gonna sit him so many times when I see him!" Kyo crashed to the ground and moaned painfully.

"Kyo-kun! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it!" She ran over to the boy and helped him stand. Then she realized that she hadn't formally introduced Shippou and Kyo. "Kyo, this is Shippou, my son. Shippou, this is Kyo, my…" She trailed off as she realized she didn't know how to describe Kyo. Sure, she knew she thought he was cute and interesting, and they had kissed, but how did she really feel? Did she really want a relationship with him? One thing was for sure though, seeing InuYasha again would definitely help her make her mind up.

**Okaay! Left a bit of a cliffy... kind of... no not really but a girl can dream cant she? Please Review nicely, Thanks!**


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Furuba.**

**Sorry it's been so long. I didnt mean to let this story gather dust Please review this short chapter at the end, thanks! No FLAMES please!**

"Wow Kagome, another 'sit' spell? You sure love those," Shippou commented offhandedly. Kagome blushed and laughed sheepishly.

"It was actually an accident this time! So, where is InuYasha? Who else is still around? How did you find me? Man Shippou, I missed you so much!"

Shippou laughed lightly at all the questions and said, "Maybe we should go to your house first. I'm looking forward to meeting Oba-chan."

Kagome looked down, a feeling of homesickness washing over her. "Sorry Shippou-chan, I'm not living with Momma anymore. I couldn't go back to my old school after I left so Mom got me an apartment here. You're more than welcome to come over though and we can talk.

Kyo looked down, sort of feeling like the third wheel of the group. Plus, he was confused. This teenager called Kagome his mother, but he knew for a fact that Kagome was exactly as old as he was, wasn't she? "I guess I'll head home now then Kagome," Kyo said, trying not to sound upset. He didn't want to make Kagome feel guilty, but he felt unwanted so he had decided to just head home to climb on the roof and look at the stars, but Kagome quickly put a stop to his train of thought.

"No way! You can't walk around this late at night. You have my scent all over you! You'd be attacked. I'm sorry. I didn't think this through when I asked you to walk me home. I didn't expect us to be attacked, but now you have to come with me and Shippou to my place. I'm sorry if you didn't want to come with me, but…"

Kyo slipped his hand into hers and smirked at her. "I'd love to come." He didn't know what made him act so different with her, but Kyo felt as if no matter what he did or said, Kagome would never hate him. That alone gave him the strength to feel as if he could do anything, even help break the Sohma curse which was what he planned on doing no matter what Kagome said.

Kagome looped her arms through Shippou's and Kyo's and began to lead the way back to her apartment. Meanwhile, Shippou had been watching the whole scene and it made him smile, but it also set his hair on end. He saw in Kyo's eyes that he cared for Kagome but he knew that Kagome was still healing from being ripped from her family. Shippou had had five hundred years to try to repair his heart while Kagome only had two months. It probably helped now that she had found her old family again, but the shock would always haunt her and there would always be the 'what ifs' of it happening again, but to her biological family. Life was so easily lost and broken apart it was almost laughable. Humans think they're so invincible but they're so easy to pick off, even the strong ones.

Kagome unlocked the door to her apartment and flicked on the light before allowing the two males inside. "Welcome! Mi casa es su casa!"

Shippou looked around and had to laugh. Dishes were piled up in the sink, school papers were littered on the floor, the blankets on the bed were in complete disarray and clothes were hanging out of drawers and the closet. Kyo nearly dropped to the floor in shock. The last time he had been over the place had been spotless!

"I've been a little bit busy and haven't had time to clean," Kagome defended.

"Yeah," Shippou scoffed, still trying not to burst out laughing. Kyo, for the first time, had nothing to say.

"So, Shippou," Kagome began, plopping down on her bed. "What the hell? What happened? Spill everything!"

"Now who's got the bad mouth?" Shippou muttered mutinously. At Kagome's glare he huffed and said, "You weren't so mean when I was little!" With that he pulled out a leaf and immediately transformed into his little self, complete with the fluffy tail and short hair pulled into a teal ribbon. Kagome's eyes didn't soften, even though she wanted to squeal and pick her little boy up. Kyo rubbed his eyes and blinked, then decided that he would just watch and see what happened. Kagome still had a hold on his fingers after all.

Shippou poofed back to his teenage self and Kagome finally allowed her eyes to soften. She didn't want Shippou to think she only loved him when he was small and easily portable. He needed to know that she loved him no matter what. No strings attached. He smiled and began to talk.


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: Thank you so much for the feedback everyone! It makes me feel so good that people are enjoying this story! Today is the last day of winter break D: I think I'm gonna cry... Hope everyone had a happy Christmas and new year tho! I wanted to give a shout out to **

**SilvermistAnimeLover! I love you! Your review was so kind and I'm glad to hear your opinions! i guess Kags does need to explain the sit theory to Kyo, but maybe after his head hits the ground enough times he'll figure it out... I'm not sure if I will have the other Sohmas meet anyone other than shippou. I might be able to fit it in but who knows! As for Yuki/Kyo's expressions when they meet the inugang, Kagome practically told them everything when she was explaining her powers to them. And finally, guess you'll just have to wait and see how Kagome and Sesshy interact lol. I actually only have that part not even halfway written :) Hope you enjoy this chapter tho!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Furuba or InuYasha and I'm not making a profit off this except in the happiness I get when people REVIEW POSITIVELY. *hinthint* :)**

"I first felt your powers when I was walking through the forest about thirty miles away from where you were." Shippou began, "InuYasha had hit me really hard! So I took a walk to get away. When I felt your power I thought it was impossible. Nobody knew what had happened to you after you disappeared, but I went back to our house and called up Sesshomaru. He said that if I had felt you it was probably because you were alive and using your power. I realized you could be in danger and I nearly kicked myself because I had panicked and left you. I ran back to where I had felt the power, but you were gone. There was the scent of blood, a demon and him." Shippou nodded towards Kyo.

"Then I followed his scent, but I got mixed up in all the other scents around his house. It seemed as if there was a barrier around the entire complex that mixed up my senses so I watched you go all around the place. It was my plan that I was going to surprise you when you left, but I got hungry. I hadn't eaten in a long time. It was all bad timing. I had finished my meal when I felt the strongest burst of reiki I had felt in a long time. I knew immediately that you were in trouble and I ran as fast as I could to help you and I killed the demon!" He finished proudly.

Kagome, who had sat down on the messy bed with Kyo, leaned against his strong chest as she tried to take everything in. Her little boy had grown up and she had missed all of it! Her eyes closed as she tried to accept it, but she couldn't. Tears leaked from her eyes in steady silver streams. It had been an extremely stressful few days compared to the wonderfully calm two months prior. All of this information and stress was too much. Kyo's arms tightened around her waist and he buried his nose in her hair.

Shippou looked at the girl he had looked up to when he was a child and finally realized just how young she was. So much had happened to her that forced her to grow up faster than most girls her age, but he knew she could handle it. She was his mother after all, if only for a short while. "Kaa-chan," Shippou soothed while Kyo looked lost and worried. "Please, stop crying. You need to be strong. Please."

Kagome hiccupped herself into silence and said brokenly, "I'm so sorry Shippou. I missed everything in your life! I was supposed to be there for you and I wasn't. I'm sorry." She looked hesitantly up into his soothing, emerald gaze as if he was going to tell her he hated her for leaving him without a mother again.

"Kaa-chan, I love you. You did leave, but you didn't have a choice. I grew up just fine, and starting now, you're going to be involved again, okay?"

Kagome nodded and covered her yawn with her hand. It was past midnight! She had a right to be tired. But she didn't want to go to sleep and wake up and have everything end up being a beautiful nightmare.

"Kagome," Kyo spoke up, "go to sleep. You need your rest. I'll see you in the morning." He smirked at her and squeezed her hand before standing up. Kagome made a small noise of protest, but Shippou cut her off before she could say anything.

"Ginger here is right, Kaa-chan. I'll walk him home and be back here in less than twenty minutes. Get your sleep. We can talk in the morning."

"Hey!" Kyo squawked at the ginger comment. Shippou was a red head too! "Like you have any room to talk!" Kagome giggled tiredly at the two before settling into her messy bed.

"Fine, but I want to see the both of you tomorrow, okay?" She demanded childishly. They both nodded patronizingly before slipping out of the apartment. Kagome heard the click of her lock and realized Shippou must have grabbed the key that was sitting on the hook by the door.

Kagome knew she should feel safe and warm now that she had her feudal family back, but everything was different. Shippou treated her as if she were the child now, which technically she was, but it was still strange. She remembered comforting the little boy like it was yesterday but in reality was over five hundred years in the past. Kagome sighed as tears seeped from beneath her closed lids again. She was just going to have to make do with what she had wasn't she?

The next morning dawned as per usual and Kagome groaned as the sunlight struck her in the face. Normally she closed her curtains so she growled to herself and rolled out of the bed before she unexpectedly landed on something squishy. "Huh?" She looked down into sparkling green eyes and a shock of ginger hair.

"Shippou!" She squealed. "It wasn't a dream! I missed you so much!" She wrapped her arms around Shippou's neck and squeezed him until he turned blue.

"Tap out! Tap out!" he choked as he tapped the floor.

"Oh! Sorry!" Kagome exclaimed as she slid off the teen. "I'm just so glad you're here!"

"I know kaa-chan. I missed you too. Shall we go see everybody else?"

Kagome suddenly looked at the floor. It had been so long for her since she had seen them and it was even longer for them. What if they forgot things about her? Or what if they were too different? Shippou was already so old! "I guess I would love that. It's just, I'm really nervous. I mean, everything has changed. What if things are too different?"

"Are things that different with me?" Shippou asked, slightly hurt.

"Well, of course they are! You've grown and I haven't. It feels like I can't call you my son anymore. It's like you don't need me at all. In fact, I think you should just call me Kagome. That would feel more normal, I guess. We can start over and be friends."

Shippou looked completely shocked but nodded reluctantly. "Okay, Kagome-san."

"I'm gonna shower then we have one stop I have to make. Is that okay Shippou-chan?"

"Shippou-kun, please." Shippou said shortly. Kagome teared up and ran to her bathroom before Shippou's sensitive nose could scent her tears. However, Shippou could tell that he had upset her and he mentally kicked himself.

Fifteen minutes later Kagome emerged from her bathroom wrapped in a towel.

"K-K-Kagome!" Shippou exclaimed, completely thrown for a loop at the girl's indecency.

"Sorry Shippou-kun. I forgot my clothes." Kagome rifled through her closet before picking out a short blue skirt and a yellow tank top with blue flowers wrapping around the bottom half. The she went to the dresser and pulled out some underwear and socks. Meanwhile, Shippou was staring bug-eyed at her as she stalked back to the bathroom to change.

"Damn hormones!" Shippou whispered hoarsely to himself as he shook his head.

Several minutes later Kagome emerged from the bathroom again with a light dusting of makeup on her face that made her eyes pop more and her lips seem fuller.

"Dang Kagome-san, who're you tryin' to impress?" Shippou whistled.

"Thanks Shippou-kun, but it's what I usually do when I have time. Since I have these modern things I like to use them. Now follow me. We're going to go get Kyo-kun, then we can go."

"What!" Shippou exclaimed. "Is it such a good idea to bring the ginger with us?"

Kagome turned her head sharply as she pulled on her black sneakers. "This is a major step for me and I want Kyo-kun to be there. Is that not okay, Shippou-kun?"

"N-no Kagome-chan. It's fine, but will he be safe?"

Reiki swirled around Kagome menacingly as she said, "I think I can protect him just fine. InuYasha's still wearing his subjugation necklace, right? I don't recall either myself or Kikyou taking it off of him."

"He's still got it on. Well, let's go get Ginger then." Shippou agreed sulkily. He bent over, showing his back to Kagome. "Hop on, we should get there quickly." Kagome awkwardly clambered onto Shippou's back and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Well then, let's go." Shippou nodded and ignored the way Kagome's breath tickled his ear.


	18. Chapter 17

**Hey guys, sorry it's been such a long time since I've updated. I've been busy with life, but recently I received two reviews that made me really want to put something up. It's kind of a filler chapter, but I'm at a loss as to what to do. Plus I think it's kind of cute. So enjoy and please review and let me know what's up. NO FLAMES PLEASE I'm under enough stress right now as it is :P**

Kagome hopped off of Shippou's back when they reached Shigure's house and walked up to the door.

"Hey Yuki-kun," Kagome greeted the boy who answered her knock. "Is Kyo-kun home?"

Yuki nodded and stepped aside. "He's in his room, still asleep, lazy cat. Who's this Kagome-chan?" He scrutinized Shippou,

"This is Shippou. He's a friend from my past. Shippou-kun, can you wait here please? I'll go wake Kyo-kun." She smiled happily and Shippou found that he couldn't say no even though something in him was warning him not to let Kagome go up to Kyo's room by herself.

Kagome masked her aura and scent and, silent as a shinobi, slipped through Kyo's cracked door. Her breath was stolen from her as she gazed at his peacefully sleeping figure. The sunlight from his window caught his orange hair and lit it up in the most spectacular way. It also made his skin seem tanner and smoother.

Kagome found herself walking toward him, holding her breath. Her hand stretched itself out and cupped his cheek. She ran her thumb across his jaw line and leaned over him, listening to his even breathing.

"Kyo-kun," she whispered, still leaning over him. Her hair slipped from behind her shoulders and brushed across his face. His nose scrunched up and he leaned his face more into Kagome's hand. "Come on, Kyo-kun. I've got a problem and I need your help to deal with it. I need you, Kyo-kun."

"Mmm," Kyo grumbled as his ruby eyes slowly opened. "Kagome-chan. You just interrupted the most amazing dream. But this dream is better than that one anyway."

Kagome laughed softly and Kyo closed his eyes again, savoring the bell-like sound before it ended. "Silly Kyo-kun. It's not a dream," Kagome played along.

"Of course it is," Kyo sat up and was nose to nose with Kagome. "If it was real life, there's no way this would happen."

He leaned forward and brushed his lips across Kagome's. Kagome gasped and blushed before she decided to be a little bit brave, so as he pulled back, she leaned forward and firmly pressed her lips to his. Her eyes fluttered closed and her eyelashes brushed Kyo's cheek as he sat stock still in shock.

Kagome was _willingly_ kissing him?

Kagome was willingly _kissing _him?

_Kagome _was willingly kissing him?

No matter how he put it, Kyo couldn't quite figure it out. Sure, they had kissed once before, but he had thought that that was a lack of good judgment on her part. She couldn't possibly feel the same way he did! Could she?

Kagome pulled back at the lack of response from Kyo, thoroughly embarrassed and disappointed that her impulsive behavior was in vain. "I, uh, I guess I'll go then," She said flatly.

"Wait!" Kyo grasped her arm as she stood up and pulled her on his lap. "Not yet." He looked her directly in the eye and said, "Kagome Higurashi, you are very different from anybody I've ever met."

Some might think that what Kyo said was insulting, but Kagome could read in his aura that he meant nothing rude by it at all, he was just awkward with his words. She flushed happily, smiled softly and hugged him around his neck before saying, "You need to get dressed now, Kyo-kun. We're going to meet the family!"

"What! A-already?"

"Well, yeah! That was the plan anyway. I was going to see my family from the feudal era. I wanted you to come with me because I didn't think I could handle it by myself. I trust you Kyo-kun. I want you to be there with me."

"Uh, fine then. I'll go for you. But they're not going to kill me are they?"

"I'll protect you," Kagome whispered in a way that made shivers crawl down Kyo's spine. "Now change! Shippou's waiting downstairs!"

Kagome sat back on Kyo's bed and leaned against the headboard of Kyo's bed, settling herself comfortably as she pulled his covers up to her chin.

"Can I change in private?" Kyo asked.

"You're already in your boxers Kyo-kun," Kagome pointed out as she gazed at his slim, muscular figure. "What more is there to hide from me?"

Kyo blushed and turned his back on Kagome to rummage through his drawers to pull out socks, baggy black jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Very nice Kyo-kun," Kagome smiled pleasantly as she took Kyo's hand and led him downstairs. She really wanted to kiss him again, but the thought of visiting her family was too overpowering.

"Shippou! We're ready to leave now!" Kagome called as she turned the corner that led to the dining room.

Shippou stood and glared at Kyo as he smelled his scent all over Kagome and Kagome's scent all over him. "What happened in there Kagome-chan?" he demanded.

Kagome blushed and ignored the question as she turned to Yuki. "We're heading out. I don't know when we will be back. It could be tonight or it could be tomorrow. We're going to visit family I haven't seen in a really long time so I don't know how long we will be in reacquainting ourselves."

"That's fine Miss Kagome. Just be careful." Yuki replied in a princely manner.

"Thanks, we will." Kagome called over her shoulder as she left with Kyo and Shippou following close behind.

"So Shippou-chan," Kagome began once they were back in the city, her fingers still laced with Kyo's. "How are we getting to Sesshomaru's place?"

"Well, it was supposed to be just you and me, but," he shot Kyo a glare, "Since we have Ginger with us, I'm not all that sure."

"I really should take my driver's test," Kagome mumbled to herself. "Well, maybe we should just take a taxi."

"Do you know how expensive that would be to go anywhere that's not ten miles away?" Kyo asked.

Kagome looked up at him. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Do they have a bus that runs near there? Shippou?"

"Please," Shippou scoffed. "Do you not remember how much Sesshomaru hates crowds? There's no way he'd live anywhere near civilization. He lives just inside a cell phone tower's range but it's so far out of the way, no normal person would willingly walk out there."

Kagome pulled her hand out of Kyo's and hugged Shippou gently. "Shippou-chan, please, what's wrong. You've been behaving differently since Kyo and I came downstairs this morning. Please tell me why you seem to not like Kyo. He's really very sweet."

Shippou closed his eyes and relaxed into Kagome's embrace, wincing at the pain in his heart that she had moved on without him. "It's not that I don't like him, Kagome," Shippou sighed. "Let's get into the woods and I'll take you both to Sesshomaru's house."

Kagome drew back, slightly hurt that Shippou had so callously denied answering her plea for information. Then she was confused. How could Shippou take her and Kyo to Sesshomaru's? Hadn't he already said that it wasn't going to work?

She shrugged and began walking after Shippou with Kyo following after her, his eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

'_That guy's jealous._' Kyo deduced in a rare moment of shining intelligence. '_I'm taking his 'mother' away, I guess. He wants her attention and he can't get it because I have it. Does Kagome know?_'


	19. Chapter 18

'_Shippou-chan,_' Kagome thought wearily. '_what's the matter with you. I love you so much and it hurts that you're shutting me out!_'

After about twenty minutes of walking in near contemplative silence, the trio reached a spot deep enough into the woods just outside the perimeter of a park that nobody would be able to see them.

"Okay," Shippou spoke commandingly. "Stay here. I'll transform and carry you to the house."

"Y'know," Kyo spoke up hesitantly.

"What?" Shippou asked exasperatedly. He really didn't want to listen to anything the red haired boy had to say. He didn't know why, but he didn't like him one bit.

"Never mind."

'_What were you about to say Kyo-kun?_' Kagome thought as she observed Kyo's shifty eyes and worried and uncomfortable expression.

He wanted to show Kagome the true form of the cat, but he had just gained her love. He didn't want her to get scared and leave him even if it would mean they could see her family faster if he ran beside Shippou. The other red-head was just going to have to figure out a way for all three of them to get to go.

Kagome looked up to see Shippou walking twenty feet away and sitting cross-legged. He closed his eyes and sat that way for a good five minutes before a green glow spread from his chest to the rest of his body. The soft glow gained strength as if a sunrise was peeking through a green canopy. Eventually the light became so bright, Kagome and Kyo had to look away for fear of losing their sight.

'_**You can look now.**_' They both looked up and had polar opposite reactions.

"Omigosh! Shippou-chan! You're amazing! You're so big and strong!" Kagome squealed in absolute pride and adoration. Her little kit was no longer as little as he had once been. Now he was a good seven feet tall at the shoulder and his muscles rippled smoothly under his sleek auburn coat. He was truly a fox demon now that he had awoken his true form and could control it.

"Oh, my…" Kyo trailed off. "What the… What just…" He couldn't be scared by the transformation considering his curse, but he was in complete shock at how _big_ Shippou had gotten. And Kagome's reaction to the transformation was a complete surprise. If she reacted like that about Shippou, would she react the same way about him? His form wasn't nearly as beautiful or strong as Shippou's. Maybe she would turn him away in disgust. He decided that it wasn't necessary to tell Kagome about his other form, at least not now.

'_**Climb on**_,' Shippou commanded, slightly cheered by the praise Kagome had given him. He knelt down so that, with Kyo's help, Kagome could clamber onto his back. Kyo scrambled up after Kagome and they were on their way. It was time to meet the family.

Thirty minutes passed as Shippou sped through the woods, expertly jumping fallen trees and dodging fallen rocks without breaking his stride. The miles zoomed away as Shippou kept going.

Kagome and Kyo kept silent for the whole trip, both contemplating what would happen when they got to wherever they were going. Kagome was nervous because she wasn't sure if she would be able to fit back into the family now that so much time had passed. She was also kind of scared of what InuYasha's reaction to Kyo would be. He was always overprotective of her when Kouga tried to court her even though he had Kikyou. Now that Kikyou was gone, did he think he could just take her? Well, he certainly had another think coming! Kagome was nobody's second choice!

Kyo was terrified even if he wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even himself. He was going to a house full of demons that could tear him apart if they so desired. He couldn't defeat Yuki, so what chance did he have of defeating full blooded youkai? Also, he wanted to please Kagome, but he didn't know how he was supposed to do that. He would just have to be on his best behavior.

Shippou was mulling over his feelings for the red head on his back. He was strong, kind, rash and loyal, so why did Shippou have a problem with him? Kyo was similar to InuYasha and he could very well become his next 'dad' if Kagome wanted it. The beast in his brain thrashed at that thought. He didn't want a new dad. He just wanted Kagome to always be there for him. She was human, she would die young. Shippou didn't want to have to give up one second with his mother if he could help it and he certainly didn't want to share that time with another male. Shippou sighed to himself. If Kyo was whom Kagome had chosen, he would have to get used to it. Maybe, given time, he could actually come to like the other ginger.

Finally Shippou came to a smooth halt. '_**We're here**_,' he growled softly. He knelt down again and Kagome and Kyo slipped off him, both landing softly on the grass. Kagome's knees trembled and she collapsed on the springy weed.

"Kagome!" Kyo exclaimed as he tried to catch her.

"Kaa-chan!" Shippou cried, detransformed, as he kneeled in front of her. "What's the matter?"

"I, nothing." Kagome stuttered, too embarrassed to tell them that she was scared of meeting her family. She grabbed both boy's hands and they hauled her to her feet. She kept holding both their hands as they made their way to the front door.

Before they could even walk up the steps to the enormous yet quaint mansion, a silver-haired man dressed in a red fire rat haori leaped in front of them.

"Shippou," InuYasha growled. "Where the heck have you been? Who's that with…" InuYasha stopped speaking as his nose finally caught up to his brain. Meanwhile, tears had gathered in Kagome's eyes at the sight of the man she had once loved.

He was all grown up now. His face was more angular, his body was taller, and his eyes showed that he had seen much more. He was almost as tall as Sesshomaru, but there was no way he would ever come close to the height of the InuYoukai.

Kagome stumbled forward until she was right in front of the hanyou. "InuYasha." She whispered, the tears that had been building finally escaping their prison behind her eye lids.

"Kagome!" InuYasha exclaimed. He wanted to pick her up and spin her around. He wanted to hold her close and whisper how much he had missed her, but there was someone else's scent on her. All over her. Instead, he freaked out. "Why are you crying? I'm sorry! I didn't mean it!"

Kagome started laughing through her tears. InuYasha's response was so typical. She opened her arms and wrapped them around his waist. She had missed him so much.

"You brought her back," InuYasha spoke softly to Shippou over Kagome's head. She really was short. He had never really noticed it before, but she was already almost seventeen and she hadn't seemed to grow at all.

Shippou nodded then jerked his head to the orange-headed boy InuYasha's normally sharp nose had ignored for the time being in the excitement of having Kagome back. He immediately pulled Kagome behind him and growled lowly at the other male.

"Who are you?" he demanded, not bothering with any form of pleasantries. The scent of cat was making some part of his brain bristle in fury.

"Uhh," Kagome spoke up from behind her hanyou friend. "That's Kyo, InuYasha. He's… very important to me so please don't hurt him." She walked over to Kyo and stood so close to him that their shoulders brushed, but she didn't do anything more intimate lest it set the volatile hanyou off.

"Hn," InuYasha grunted. He glared at Kyo and then turned his golden eyes on Kagome. His glare softened to a slightly pleading look. "C'mon Kagome. Let's go inside and talk."

He reached out for Kagome's hand. Her eyes filled with tears again and she ran at InuYasha. He easily grabbed Kagome, set her on her place on his back and sprinted the rest of the way back to the house.

Shippou merely glanced longingly after the pair and then sighed wearily, "We may as well follow."

"Kagome won't go back to him, will she?" Kyo mumbled quietly. "She won't leave me for him, right?"

Shippou looked into Kyo's distraught red eyes and realized that he really did care for Kagome and he really didn't want to lose her.


	20. Chapter 19

After Kikyou and Kagome had disappeared from the feudal era, InuYasha had realized how much both girls had meant to him. Then he realized that he had loved Kikyou, but she was dead. He had understood that the dead should remain dead and the living needed to move on.

He would never forget Kikyou, but the girl on his back now was extremely precious to him. He wasn't sure if he loved her or not, but he sure wasn't going to let some horny teenage boy get his kicks with his Kagome.

The pair shot through the front door and InuYasha put Kagome on the plush, black leather couch. There were pelts of deer and bears and other beasts scattered across the living room and the floor was a dark, shiny hardwood. To Kagome it looked like an oak floor, but what did she know about flooring?

"Kagome," InuYasha whispered. Her eyes shot to his and she was captivated. For her it had only been a few months since she had seen him, but it had torn her apart to think that there would never be another chance to see him or anyone else from that time again. The pain was still fresh for her.

For him, he had had five hundred years to get over losing the two most precious females to him, but considering the fact that he had never mated anyone else spoke volumes of his loyalty to the two women.

"InuYasha, I missed you." Kagome said simply. "I'm so glad I get to see you again."

"Who is that boy to you?" InuYasha growled with all the subtlety of a bull wearing a tutu prancing through the streets of Tokyo during rush hour.

Kagome sighed before answering. She had known this would come up sooner or later. Apparently it was sooner. "He is extremely important to me InuYasha. I suppose he's a potential mate depending on how things go."

"But why, Kagome!" InuYasha exclaimed, leaping from his seat to pace violently around the large sitting room. "Why him? You never accepted anything from that Hobo kid or that mangy wolf or any of the other demons! Why that boy? Why that cat?"

"I'm not sure," Kagome said softly. "I just… I _think_ I love him. He is special."

"No Kagome," InuYasha growled. "He's an empty shell that holds a dangerous demon!"

"How dare you!" Kagome shrieked, shooting to her feet as well. "I know what Kyo holds, but he has his own mind and soul! That's why I love him! He's continuing to live life like a normal person despite his past and his curse! Think about your past InuYasha! What if I had thought that way about you. Or Shippou! None of _this_ would've ever happened." Kagome spread her arms out, gesturing about their current and past situations.

InuYasha plopped down on an armchair, his bangs covering his eyes. "Fine." He relented. "I give you permission-"

"Permission!?" Kagome snorted incredulously.

"But," InuYasha overrode her. "If this boy hurts you in any way-"

Kagome couldn't help herself. She had to say it. "Like you did every time you ran off with Kikyou?"

InuYasha winced visibly but continued in a strained voice full of love and concern as well as a bit of malice, "I will make him pay."

Kagome was taking deep breaths to calm herself. She didn't want to fight with InuYasha, but she wasn't about to give up on Kyo. Wait, what? Hang on, was InuYasha letting her have a boyfriend? He wasn't going to try to push her around to stay by his side and then go off with someone else?

"InuYasha, thank you for your concern." She breathed, hugging him tightly.

Kyo and Shippou, who had been waiting outside the door for the argument to dissolve, decided to make their entrance. They slid through the door and Kyo immediately went to Kagome's side.

Inside he was floating on clouds. She had said that she loved him and trusted him. There was no way he was going to betray that trust! Kagome was his forever.

"InuYasha," he nodded at the inu hanyou, "Thanks."

"Keh," InuYasha sniffed. "Just because I'm not going to kill you doesn't mean I like you, got it?"

Kyo grimaced and shrugged. Kagome grabbed his hand and held it tightly. Now all they had to do was wait for Sesshomaru to arrive. Maybe Kagome would get to see Kouga and the others too if they were still around?

A couple of hours later Kagome put lunch on the table and made everybody talk to each other in a civilized manner. She was determined to get everybody to behave and tolerate each other for now, but she was having a hard time getting InuYasha to cooperate.

"InuYasha, just shut up and eat," Shippou finally sighed. He didn't much appreciate Kyo's presence, to be honest he was a little jealous of him, but InuYasha's constant attitude was bugging the crap out of him.

InuYasha finally ceased his endless jabbering (more like insulting) and shoveled the dango Kagome had made into his mouth like there was no tomorrow.

"I take it you like it?" Kagome snorted in disgust and amusement.

"Not really," InuYasha mumbled. "It's a little dry and burnt but I haven't eaten in forever!"

InuYasha didn't sense Kagome's rapidly fading patience as her aura grew blacker. "InuYasha," she warned. He looked up, his eyes widening comically.

"Wait! I didn't mean it! It's delicious! See?" He dumped the rest of the plate down his gullet and gave an enormous swallow to get all the dango down. "Mmm," he grimaced.

Kagome practically shrieked. He had eaten every last crumb of her precious dango and she hadn't had one bite! "InuYasha! Sit! SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT, SIT!" InuYasha was yanked out of his chair and smashed into the floor mercilessly until Kagome stomped off to go answer the door since the bell had just rung.

'_Who would come out here in the middle of the woods? It's obviously not Sesshomaru since this is his house. He would just march right in. Hm…_' Kagome tried to read the aura through the door and instantly picked up her pace.

She threw the door open and leaped into the arms of the person waiting there. "Kouga!" she laughed.

Said wolf demon stumbled back at the small unexpected weight that was thrust into his arms. He took a whiff of the body he was holding and nearly dropped her in his shock.

"Kagome?"

Kagome looked up into Kouga's blue eyes and smiled hugely. "Hi! Come on in Kouga! We have so much to talk about!"

Kouga, still in a daze, followed the girl into the large house. He grinned when he saw InuYasha in a heap with the wood flooring cracked around him.

"Hey dogbreath, what'd you do to make my woman so mad so fast?"

"Shut up ya mangy wolf!" InuYasha shouted as he leaped to his feet. "I didn't do nothin'!"

"InuYasha!" Kagome growled warningly. He wisely shut his mouth with a snap but continued to glare daggers at the wolf demon.

Kouga stared at Kagome until Kyo pointedly cleared his throat.

"Hey, Kagome, who's the human?" Kouga wondered curiously. He didn't sound angry or truly concerned. He sounded as if Kyo was not even worth his attention.

"This is Kyo Sohma. He's," Kagome stopped and blushed before restarting. "Sorry Kouga, but he beat you to it. Kyo and I are together."

Kouga's mouth dropped open. "What!" he exclaimed. "B-b-but I thought you were Dog Breath's intended mate?"

InuYasha blushed and glared at Kouga. Sure he loved Kagome, but Kikyou was always his first love. He wouldn't want to have Kagome wondering if he really loved her for the rest of her life. Also, she deserved a human that would live and die along with her.

"No. Kagome and Kyo have my acceptance." InuYasha bit out. He shot a warning look at Kyo who looked surprised and happy about this even though he had already overheard it before.

"Do you know when Sesshomaru is coming home?" Kagome asked. It was time to make her true intentions known. "I have some things to ask him about curses."

"Sesshomaru-sama should be back around seven thirty." Shippou replied

Kagome sighed heavily but then grinned. She could spend the rest of the day with her family and get to hear about what had gone on with them for the past five hundred years!

**Okay, it's kind of short, and a filler, but I think the next chapter has some important stuff. Maybe theres a bit more action in the future?we'll see. Please REVIEW kindly though or I'll feel less like uploading and more like watching tv or reading the other fantastic fics out on this wonderful website. It's not like I'll hoard my story unless I get reviews, I'm just telling you how my mind works. Anyways, please review! Thank you kindly**


	21. Chapter 20

Kagome was curled up on the couch laughing at something stupid that InuYasha had said when Sesshomaru walked into his house. He took one whiff of the air and his eyes widened minimally when he finally comprehended the fact that the little priestess from five hundred years ago was sitting in his living room, on his couch laughing at his little half brother.

"Miko." He said emotionlessly, somewhat amused when she leaped up from her seat and bowed low to him.

"Sesshomaru-sama," she murmured.

She looked up and saw his lips twitch slightly before settling back into the cold expression he almost always wore. That small change was plenty for Kagome though and she raced up to give him a hug.

"Sesshomaru-sensei, I missed you!"

"Indeed? Likewise Miko-chan. This Sesshomaru is glad that you have returned to his house. Who is the human you have brought. He smells strange."

"Oh, that's Kyo Sohma. He and his family are part of the reason I came here. I was wondering if we could talk privately actually?" Kagome had learned that Sesshomaru wasn't one for small talk or any sort of beating around the bush so she decided to ask him straight out.

Sesshomaru gave her an odd look but nodded in compliance. "Follow me Miko-chan."

He lead her around the house before pulling her into his arms and leaping at an astounding pace through the woods.

Kagome laughed in glee at the feel of the wind whipping through her hair. It was surprising actually. Had somebody told her five hundred years ago that the regal Lord of the West would be carrying her through the forest, not to kill her, but to have a (hopefully) pleasant conversation, she would have laughed them out of the country.

After a very short sprint through the forest, Sesshomaru landed gracefully on a large oak tree before seating himself at the fork between the branch and the trunk. He patted the spot beside him, allowing Kagome to seat herself next to him.

"Very well Miko-chan. We are alone. What was it you wished to speak to this Sesshomaru about?"

Kagome looked down at her toes that were dangling off the branch and smoothed out her skirt. She was playing for time and trying to figure out how she would ask Sesshomaru how in the world she was supposed to be able to lift the Sohma curse. Finally, after a few minutes of trying to bring up the situation delicately, she decided it wasn't worth the effort anymore. Plus Sesshomaru was looking a bit frustrated with her hesitancy.

"I'm looking for a way to lift an ancient and powerful curse. How would I go about doing that?"

Sesshomaru looked over at her and his eyes narrowed. "Why would you wish to lift a curse?"

Kagome appeared affronted. "Sesshomaru-sensei, I haven't changed much in the last five hundred years. I just want to help people live a better, more comfortable life."

"If you haven't changed much, then I daresay that you already told these people you would help them without thinking of the consequences, did you not?" Sesshomaru asked in a disapproving tone.

Kagome blushed and looked back at her toes. "Maybe."

"Miko-chan, this curse that you are trying to lift was put upon the Sohma family by a priestess nearly more powerful than Kikyou herself. It would be very dangerous for you to attempt this."

"I kind of figured it would be something like that," the young priestess grumbled. "But I still have to try- Hey! How did you know it was the Sohma curse I was trying to break?"

Sesshomaru actually cracked a smile and flicked his gaze toward the teenager at his side. "Miko-chan, it was fairly obvious. I've been keeping an eye on you since you got back. I know who you've been hanging around with lately and I approve."

Kagome was silent in her thoughts until she decided that she was officially irritated. "Sesshomaru-sensei," she began calmly. "You mean to tell me that you _knew_ when I came back and _left me alone_?" Her voice had reached a pitch that was beginning to make Sesshomaru flinch. This annoying sound was partially the reason he had stayed away from her for so long after her return. He knew she would get irritated and whiny eventually. It was what had happened when Rin got older.

"Miko-chan." Kagome's mouth immediately shut and she thought she may have gone too far if the widening of her eyes was anything to go by. "I would like to tell you what I know of breaking this curse, but only of you _lower your voice now_." Sesshomaru's voice lowered menacingly and Kagome nodded quickly and mimed a zipping motion over her mouth.

"Now, as far as this Sesshomaru knows, the entire curse must be bound in a powerful artifact, but even then, the curse will only be delayed until the next generation. As soon as the first generation dies, the second will immediately be burdened with the curse again. I am sure that if you return to your shrine, you will be able to dig up more information. You might even be able to find a way to completely eradicate this curse from the world. But I warn you Miko-chan, this won't be easy. And if you strain yourself too much, you could die."

Kagome nodded solemnly, but suddenly her eyes twinkled mischievously and she couldn't help herself. "So, even after five hundred years, there's still something the great Lord of the West doesn't know?"

Sesshomaru snorted in a rather undignified manner and sniffed, "this Sesshomaru has no need of the knowledge of curses and blessings and other such things along the line of humans and 'holy people'".

Kagome laughed at Sesshomaru's derision before she glanced at him in curiosity. "Whatever you say, Sesshomaru-sensei. How 'bout we head back now, okay?" And with that she leaned back off the tree branch and allowed herself to tumble toward the ground.

Sesshomaru bolted upright from his relaxed position in shock. "Miko-chan!" he almost cried, but he wouldn't be the eternally composed Ice Prick if he did that, so it was merely an exclaimation.

He peered over the edge of the branch, expecting to see Kagome nursing a twisted ankle at best and broken and bleeding at worst. What he saw was nothing. In slight confusion he leaped off the tree and called, "Miko-chan?"

Unable to control herself any longer, Kagome dissolved into giggles. "Sorry Sesshomaru-sensei. It was too much of an opportunity to pass up," she said as she dropped the barrier disguising her and putting a hand on Sesshomaru's arm. "I'm glad you actually do care though, Sessho-nii."

Sesshomaru growled at the small girl, but there was no real malice behind it. He raced toward her and scooped her onto his back, somewhat enjoying her short shriek of surprise before it turned into a peal of laughter.

"Alright Sesshomaru-sensei! Let's head home!"

**So, I hope you enjoyed this short chapter. Personally, it's one of my favorites. Unfortunately it's also the last one i have typed thus far. i hope this was a good back to school present for all those poor souls who had to go back to that dreadful place, but please Review kindly to make me feel better.**

**One review mentioned that Akito is a guy, not a girl. This is true of the Anime but as far as my research shows ***SPOILERS*** in the manga he is revealed to be a girl. I probably should have mentioned that i am mixing elements from both the manga and anime. Sorry for the confusion.**

**Dont forget to REVIEW! Thank you kindly ;)**


	22. Chapter 21

**OH. MY. GOSH. I cannot believe how long it's been since I've had free time and motivation to write. I AM SO SORRY! BUT, I am grateful that people keep reviewing! It really is inspiring. Anyway, it's summer, and at present I am ready to put up this chapter. Special mention to LupinCriss for your review! Please don't tell your father on me! And I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and that you remember what happened. If not, here:**

**Kagome returned from feudal japan and started going to Kaibara high school where she met the Sohma's, fell in love with Kyo, and discovered the curse. Determined to help remove the curse, she traveled with Shippou, who saved her from some powerful demons, to Sesshomaru and Inuyasha's place where she received information regarding the curse. She still needs more information than the little bit Sess gave her and now she's here.**

**If you want more details, please feel free to go back and reread the story. K thanx! **

Kagome laughed happily as she walked through Sesshomaru's door, trying to brush through her windswept hair with her fingertips.

Kyo looked up at her smiling face as she walked through the door and felt his breath catch in his throat. She really was stunning even with wild hair that she was attempting to tame. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes bright. She looked over at him and smiled wider.

"Kyo-kun!" she skipped over to the couch he was on and sat next to him, leaning on his arm. "Looks like we need to head back tonight. I've got some work to do if I'm going to break this curse!"

Inuyasha looked at her curiously. "And what curse would that be Kagome?"

She looked in his skeptical eyes and smirked merrily. "Wouldn't you like to know Inu-baka?"

Inuyasha growled at her, but stopped as her eyes flashed and she stood quickly. "Seriously though, I need to go home. I really do have a lot of school work to finish, and tomorrow is already Sunday! I won't be able to go visit Mama and Souta and Gramps until who knows when if the teachers keep up with all of this work!"

"You never could get away from school, could you Wench?" Inuyasha snorted.

Surprisingly, Kagome didn't scream, or hit, or cry at Inuyasha. All she did was glance tiredly at him, but with a hidden strength glimmering in her eyes. "No I couldn't. But that's why I have to go back; so I can finish with it and finally be done."

"Alright, I'll take you and the ginger back, Kagome-chan," Shippou heaved a sigh as he stood.

"Yes Shippou-kun!" Kagome smiled and pulled Kyo to his feet. "I'll see you later Inuyasha. By Sesshomaru! I'll visit when I can! And you better come see me, or I'll have to hunt you down!"

She heard a 'hn' from Sesshomaru and a 'yeah, whatever,' from Inuyasha.

She chuckled to herself and shook her head as she followed Shippou out the door, tugging Kyo along behind her. They both turned away from the brilliant light as Shippou transformed into his monstrous fox form. Although she didn't need it, Kagome allowed Kyo to assist her in mounting Shippou before leaping on himself in a casual display of agility. She smiled and chatted with her two boys as they jogged at a leisurely pace through the ever darkening woods.

Shippou stopped outside of the Sohma property line and crouched down so the two humans could slide off his back before he transformed back into his humanoid figure.

"I'll make sure Kagome gets home safely, but I figured you'd want to say good night," he grumbled.

Kagome smiled softly at him and began to walk the long distance from the forest line to the front door of Shigure's home. Once there she leaned up and kissed Kyo softly on the cheek.

"G'night Kyo-kun," she muttered, her own cheeks tinted pink.

She pulled away to walk back to Shippou when she felt a warm hand snag her own. It pulled her back into a warm, firm embrace. Kyo just held her in his arms relishing the feeling of the soft, small woman he was lucky enough to have caught the attention of. He breathed in deeply and kissed the top of Kagome's head before releasing her and returning to his usual nature.

"Keh. You'd better let the kid take you home before you're too tired to walk straight," he groused, with an affectionate smirk playing at his mouth.

"Yes sir!" Kagome saluted, smiling lightly. "I'll see you around, Kyo-kun."

Kyo watched as her dark form melted into the woods, almost as if she was unaware of the stealth she was displaying. He sighed and turned into the house wondering what the near future would bring.

Kagome and Shippou walked home the slow, _human_ way trying to heal their injured relationship. Kagome was sick of the awkwardness between them and she made it her goal to try to fix it!

"Shippou-kun," she started somewhat hesitantly, "What have you been doing for the past five hundred years?"

Shippou glanced at her oddly before his expression relaxed as he realized what she was trying to do. "I've been living Kagome-chan. I've been helping Sesshomaru run his businesses, keeping the demon population in check, and arguing with Inu-baka."

"For five hundred years? That must have gotten tiring." Kagome commented warily.

"I can imagine it would have had Sesshomaru, Inuyasha and I not made friends with nearly every historical figure we could, and assisted some of them in achieving their goals. I've found that helping someone else achieve something worthy makes living seem less like a chore, and more like a vacation. I don't need modern conveniences to make me happy. I do need to do something constantly though, or I'll go crazy!"

"I can understand that, Shippou-kun." Kagome was smiling now that they had found a common ground. "I guess that's why I'm finding myself involved in breaking a curse that's been around for centuries. I've been dragged away from all the magic of the Feudal Era and yet I still find myself drawn to it. That feeling of helping someone else is incredible."

"It doesn't hurt when you love one of the people you're helping now, does it?"

Kagome glanced at Shippou. She couldn't tell if he was being joking, or if he was still bitter that she had found a new love already and he still felt like he had been replaced. He was smirking though, so she punched him in the shoulder, charging her hand with a little bit of reiki.

"Ow!" Shippou wailed dramatically. "What was that for?"

"That was for being cheeky with me!" Kagome couldn't help but dissolve into giggles at the melodramatic look Shippou was giving her.

He growled playfully at her and swept her legs out from under her to carry her bridal style all the way back to her apartment at a much faster speed than she could ever have achieved on her own. She giggled happily as she clutched her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest to prevent the wind from blowing debris into her eyes. She was glad their relationship was being patched up. Hopefully things would continue looking up for her!


End file.
